When you look at charts all day, sometimes you notice patterns that make you laugh. Google's recent stock performance is one such gut-buster, following the release of OpenAI's first ChatGPT-powered browser, Atlas.

Atlas is a web browser developed and released this week by OpenAI that integrates ChatGPT features directly into the browsing experience. Unlike traditional browsers, Atlas allows users to interact with web pages using natural language, summarize articles, extract key information, and automate complex online tasks with the help of AI. The browser leverages ChatGPT’s capabilities to help users research topics more efficiently, generate content, and even interpret data or tables on web pages. By combining browsing and AI assistance in a seamless interface, Atlas aims to make finding, understanding, and using information on the web faster and more intuitive. 

So, what's it like?

Users started to download the Atlas browser en masse after it was released a few days ago, which presented an existential threat to Google's share price.

You see, Google currently makes the world's most popular web browser, Chrome. Chrome is crucial to Google’s success because it gives the company a direct gateway to billions of users and their online habits. As the world’s most popular web browser, Chrome acts as both a data collection tool and a distribution channel for Google’s core services—like Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Google Ads. By controlling the browser, Google can ensure its search engine is the default choice for most users, driving huge amounts of traffic and advertising revenue.

Moreover, Chrome allows Google to set web standards, influence how websites are built, and quickly roll out new features that integrate with its ecosystem. The browser’s tight connection to Google accounts and cloud services helps lock users into the Google environment, making it harder for them to switch to competitors. In short, Chrome is not just a product—it’s a strategic platform that underpins Google’s dominance in search, advertising, and cloud-based applications.

So when folks started to wander away from Chrome, Google's stock price responded dramatically. Between Monday and Tuesday, Google-parent Alphabet tumbled from US$256 per share to US$246 a share. 

Then the reviews of OpenAI's Atlas browser started coming in. Many found it to be incredibly similar to Chrome, just with ChatGPT "built-in".

After that realisation, many closed the app, went back to Chrome, and Google's stock price was restored once investors realised it wasn't that big of a threat after all.