AI Browsers Without New Behaviors Are Just Chrome With A Lipstick

Here’s why I believe they are destined to struggle unless they focus on habit formation and ritual redesign, not just feature addition.

The habit trap

Most AI browsers preserve the browsing loop established in the past 30 years of internet: search, open, read, click, go back, repeat. Then they add an AI panel or sidebar and ask users to shift into a new tool inside that loop. But human behavior doesn’t work that way. Habits grow when the same cues and rewards repeat in a stable rhythm. Open the fridge → grab a snack → dopamine.

Behavior scientists like BJ Fogg have shown that new habits form only when three things meet: motivation, ability, and a prompt. If any one of them is weak, the behavior won’t stick. And right now, AI browsers miss at least two out of three. The motivation might be there (“let’s try this new tool”), but the ability (ease) is low, and the prompt (invitation to use it) is hidden off to the side.

So, after the first day of excitement, people go back to what feels easy: typing in Google.

Behavior change 101 (and where browsers miss)

Behavior change is seldom about big features. It’s about small repeated rituals. Key components:

• Behavior happens when Motivation, Ability (i.e. effort is low) and a Prompt coincide. If the prompt is weak, or the ability is impaired, the behavior doesn’t happen.
• Habits get rooted through consistent contextual cues: same time, place, interface, mental model and repeated payoff. A browser’s muscle memory (open tab, type, click) is strong. If that loop is untouched, new tools rarely take over.
• People avoid changing defaults unless the new default is dramatically better or the old one is disrupted. A sidebar “AI helper” doesn’t disrupt the loop, it just waits for you to invoke it.
• Rituals need the three-part loop: cue → action → reward. Without closing that loop, habits don’t form. Occasional novelty isn’t enough.

What today’s AI browsers are shipping

Comet calls itself a personal assistant for the web, yet it still makes you switch panels or open a special mode. ChatGPT Atlas can act on your behalf, but you still live in a world of tabs and links. And Dia…well, it even rolled back some of the more daring ideas Arc had started exploring.

The mental model is still “browser first, AI optional.” The risk: users see the assistant, but they don’t shift their default behavior. They might try it once or twice, then revert to their habitual browsing.

From a design/UX lens this means: the prompt (inviting the user) is weak; the ability (using the sidebar) is higher friction than the existing flow; the cue (open the browser and normal tab) doesn’t point unmistakably to the new ritual. So the behavior fails to embed.

Why “AI as a sidebar” under-delivers

• Out of sight, out of mind: The AI sits in a sidebar, not in the natural path of browsing. Users have to switch context to talk to it. That tiny effort kills consistency.
• Same old defaults: As long as the omnibox (the search bar) rules the flow, users will keep typing there. The AI isn’t a default, it’s a detour.
• No clear reward loop: You use it once, get a mixed result, and don’t feel that instant payoff. Without clear feedback or delight, the habit fades.
• Same experience: Habit formation requires repetition. If AI features pop up occasionally or only for certain types of tasks, they don’t become part of daily muscle memory.

What could make AI browsers actually useful

Here’s what I believe design teams should target if they want their product to become the new habit, not just a novelty:

Make the AI path the default, but only when it helps

The user’s action flow should automatically route through the AI, BUT only when it provides a clear benefit. For example: instead of typing a search, the omnibox in Comet defaults to “Ask Perplexity…” to establish a new habit: open browser → state AI first → result appears. But, in some cases, the AI should better understand what the user is actually trying to achieve. And if it makes sense to ask the AI, navigate the history, search on google, for example. Right now Comet’s default behavior can be frustrating and annoying, because it fails to understand the real needs of the user.

And well, maybe it’s time to rethink the omnibox entirely. Why not remove it and let interaction begin right on the page, wherever curiosity strikes? The web isn’t a list of addresses anymore; it’s a space for thinking. And honestly, sooner than later, we’ll have to redesign the concept itself of web content (but this is the subject for my follow-up article).

Capture → structure → act

The UI should enable a single, fluid gesture, like a keystroke or selection, that instantly captures what’s on screen, processes it through AI, and completes an action such as saving, emailing, or sharing. My hypothesis here, and my vision of the future, is that embedding AI into contextual interactions, and experimenting with new UX and UI paradigms rather than relying on chatbots and omnibars, is what will change the way users interact with content. Something they’ve been doing the same way in the last 30 years or so.

Imagine selecting a piece of text, a product price, or a quote and seeing smart overlays or suggestion pills appear with relevant next steps: “Summarize”, “Compare Online Shops”, “Verify sources”. Just an example, but this kind of gentle guidance invites exploration and helps users discover better, faster ways to research, analyze, or decide.

Definitely a step in the good direction, is Copilot Vision attempt at understanding and interacting with any page content via talk-based commands and interactive overlays. This approach promotes a completely nex experience, that if proven to be effective, will finally establish a new habit.

According to recent UX/UI research, this kind of contextual, in-the-moment help feels far more natural than starting a chat every time. When AI fits into your rhythm, not the other way around, it starts making sense to change old behaviors: the experience feels both efficient and delightful, repetition follows. And repetition is what forges the new habit.

Turn the ritual into a recipe

Design workflows that feel like step-by-step rituals rather than one-off chats. For instance: Select product name or price → Trigger AI overlay → “Compare with alternatives”. The user gets a compact comparison pill without leaving the page, building a reflex: whenever I see a product, I check the overlay. The user returns to the browser with the mental routine. Over time that becomes automatic.

Resurface completed rituals

Show a “playbook” of your past tasks in the browser home or sidebar: “Tasks you’ve asked the assistant to manage.” When users see their past workflow and outcomes, besides the immediate advantage of using again previous recipes, the brain treats it as part of the tool’s identity, reinforcing the ritual loop.

The uncomfortable conclusion

Building a new human-computer ritual is harder than adding an AI model to a browser. But it’s the only way this category survives. A browser that learns when to stay quiet, when to step in, and how to make small tasks feel effortless… that’s where the magic lies.

The research hasn’t moved: reduce effort at the exact moment of intent, reuse or replace the strongest cues, and make the successful path the default. Until then, most of these products are just AI plugins with a PR budget: lots of marketing sparkle, little behavioral change.

The takeaway

If we want people to browse differently, we have to design the difference.

Habits don’t shift because of slogans or smarter sidebars. They shift when the loop itself changes. When the new way feels easier, faster, and a little bit delightful. Change the loop, or the loop will make your users stick to their old usual and comfortable habits.

Edi Bianco

Design Strategist @ Amplifi Labs

Sources & further reading

• Fogg Behavior Model (behavior requires Motivation, Ability, Prompt) https://www.behaviormodel.org
• Habit formation & automaticity (Wood; Lally et al.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26361052/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2009/aug/how-long-does-it-take-form-habit
• Status-quo bias and defaults (Samuelson & Zeckhauser) https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/rzeckhauser/files/status_quo_bias_in_decision_making.pdf
• Perplexity — Comet
• OpenAI — Atlas
• Microsoft — Copilot
• The Browser Company — Dia, Arc

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