OpenAI confirmed off its first AI Agent, Operator, final week, nevertheless it already has a scrappy competitor providing an AI device referred to as Browser Use that may full duties on-line for you. This Laptop-Utilizing Agent (CUA) can write, search, click on buttons, and replica info from web sites with out you needing to the touch the mouse or keyboard and with out the $200-a-month ChatGPT Professional subscription.
Browser Use is definitely free, at the least if you happen to’re keen and capable of spend a while enjoying with API code. I am not very code-literate, however I naively thought I knew sufficient of how GitHub works to make use of the API model. Hours of sifting via documentation, tweaking settings, and watching examples later, I made a decision this would wish a deeper stage of coding information than I’ve, not to mention the common individual looking the net.
Fortunately, for me, Browser Use simply debuted a cloud model that employs OpenAI’s personal GPT-4o mannequin. It cuts out loads of the heavy technical lifting and streamlines issues right into a extra acquainted chat format with none additional work. It has its limitations and prices $30, however after my inept API mess, it felt like a cut price. And even on this (nonetheless clearly unfinished) type, you continue to have to put some effort into engineering prompts and negotiating how the AI features. Probably the most limiting side is which you could solely subject one immediate earlier than having to begin a brand new interplay. Regardless of the textual content field, you possibly can’t reply to what the AI does and refine your request.
Shopping for AI
With the whole lot arrange, I put Browser Use via a couple of real-world checks. First up was a value comparability job. I entered the immediate: “Navigate to Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and Walmart and seek for ‘MacBook Air M2’. Extract the product title, value, and inventory availability from the primary 5 outcomes on every web site. Examine the costs and determine the bottom one. If reductions or coupons are current, document them. Present a ultimate abstract with the very best deal and the place to purchase it.”
It did the job effectively, although it didn’t discover any hidden reductions or coupons. Nonetheless, the truth that I may automate value monitoring throughout a number of websites was fairly thrilling. That stated, a seamless subject for any agent like this comes when an internet site needs to test that you just’re human. Browser Use has a button that permits you to take over everytime you need, however it should additionally provide you with a warning when there is a want. You possibly can show your humanity after which hit resume to let the AI take over once more.
Fly AI
Subsequent got here a journey planning job with the immediate: “Seek for a round-trip flight from New York to London on Dec 15, 2025 on British Air. Choose the most cost effective possibility and extract particulars, together with value, airline, and departure time.”
Browser Use delivered, pulling up a British Airways flight at $750, full with departure time and different related particulars. This could possibly be extremely helpful for individuals who e-book loads of journey, particularly if you happen to automate it to test for value drops often.
Truthful climate AI pal
Lastly, I examined out climate prediction and planning with the immediate: “Verify the 7-day climate forecast for New York Metropolis on climate.com and summarize temperature traits, rain possibilities, and any extreme climate warnings after which counsel the right way to costume for it.”
Climate is without doubt one of the hottest makes use of for voice assistants, so I needed to see how the AI dealt with a extra advanced request in that vein. It did very effectively, not solely extracting the knowledge from the forecast however suggesting which days to put on a light-weight coat and which days I ought to “insulate with a heat coat and scarf, as will probably be chilly with low rain probability.”
Energy journey
The important thing distinction between the 2 is accessibility. Browser Use is sort of a Swiss Military knife for builders. It has the pliability to do virtually something inside a browser, however it’s worthwhile to know the right way to use the instruments. You possibly can dig into the code, tweak it, and mildew it to your actual wants. If a characteristic is lacking, nothing’s stopping you from including it. Browser Use, being open-source, additionally has an energetic developer group continually refining it. Which means if you happen to run into points, there are boards and GitHub discussions the place you possibly can probably discover solutions.
OpenAI’s Operator, then again, is like hiring a butler. It does so much for you however inside sure constraints. Operator’s power is its integration with OpenAI’s broader AI ecosystem, giving it entry to proprietary fashions that may make extra nuanced selections. Nevertheless, you’re locked into OpenAI’s pricing construction and restricted customization choices.
Browser Use isn’t good. Even its cloud model calls for some endurance. It’s good to craft your prompts rigorously, brace your self for troubleshooting, and infrequently begin over. The cloud model might make up for a few of this later, however for now, the bounds of not with the ability to edit or reply inside the dialog put exhausting limits on its in any other case versatile nature.
And the velocity may be irritating as effectively. Try a video of my second take a look at; that is 4 occasions the velocity of the particular course of.
Proper now, Browser Use is greatest suited to individuals who take pleasure in tinkering, corresponding to builders, researchers, and automation geeks who don’t thoughts getting their fingers soiled. For those who’re keen to place within the effort, you’ll get a robust, versatile device that prices approach lower than its competitors.
However if you happen to’d moderately not spend your weekend wrestling with configuration recordsdata, Operator would be the extra forgiving possibility. Both approach, internet automation is prepared for a growth.
