Week 33: Testing AI Browsers

(and realizing Chrome has become my comfortable crutch)

The Experiment

I’ve been hearing about AI-native browsers for months; Dia, Comet, even DuckDuckGo with its AI features. But like most people, I’ve been married to Chrome for years. Bookmarks, saved passwords, muscle memory: I don’t even think about which browser I’m going to use.

So I decided to put them to the test. Could these AI browsers actually deliver better results than my trusty (rusty?) Chrome setup? My goal was simple: run the same tasks across four browsers and see if any could convince me to make the switch.

The Browsers

Dia - New AI-native browser
Comet - Perplexity’s browser with integrated search AI
DuckDuckGo - Privacy-focused with DuckAssist AI features
Chrome - My current baseline (with ChatGPT in a tab for AI tasks)

The Process

I designed three real-world tasks that would test different aspects of AI browsing:

AI Research Challenge “Find me 3 companies doing interesting things with vertical farming + their funding status” Tests: AI quality, source integration, speed
Context-Aware Magic Opened 6-8 random tabs, then asked: “Based on what I’m reading, suggest 3 newsletter topics” Tests: Tab awareness, contextual understanding
Practical Writing Assistant “Help me write a follow-up email to a client who went quiet after our demo” Tests: Real-world usefulness, writing quality

For each browser, I timed how long it took to find the AI features, rated the interface intuition, and scored them on speed, accuracy, and that gut-level “would I actually switch?” feeling.

The Outcome

Here’s what genuinely surprised me: the AI browsers weren’t just better—they were dramatically cleaner.

Chrome was a mess. Search results cluttered with ads, over-optimized SEO garbage, and that weird new AI Overview thing that sometimes just… wasn’t there. I spent more time scrolling past sponsored content than actually finding information.

Dia crushed it on usability. Simple, intuitive interface. The AI features were right where you’d expect them. Research tasks that took multiple searches on Chrome were handled in one clean response.

Comet tied with Dia on several tasks but felt slightly less polished. Still, both AI browsers absolutely nailed the context-aware challenge—they actually read across my open tabs and suggested relevant newsletter topics based on my browsing session. That’s genuinely impressive.

DuckDuckGo was the surprise winner for cleanliness—no ads, no SEO spam, just clean results. The AI wasn’t as sophisticated as Dia or Comet, but sometimes simple is better.

But here’s the kicker: despite Dia scoring highest on almost everything, my “would I switch?” rating was still just a 3/5. And that’s the real story here.

Key Takeaway

AI browsers are genuinely better than Chrome for research and productivity tasks. They’re faster, cleaner, and actually helpful instead of trying to sell you stuff. But switching browsers is hard.

I don’t think it’s as much about the technology as it is about inertia. Years of bookmarks, saved passwords, extensions, and pure muscle memory. Even when something is objectively better, the friction of change can be overwhelming.

Pro Tips for Testing AI Browsers:

Try the Context Challenge: Open multiple tabs about different topics, then ask the AI to synthesize them. This is where AI browsers really shine.
Compare Search Cleanliness: Do the same search in Chrome vs an AI browser. The difference in ad clutter is striking.
Start with a Secondary Browser: Use an AI browser for research tasks while keeping Chrome for everything else. Less friction, same benefits.
Test Your Real Workflows: Don’t just do generic searches—test the actual tasks you do every day.

What’s Next?

I’m planning a longer trial with Dia; a full week of using it as my primary research browser while keeping Chrome for everything else. Baby steps toward breaking a decade-old habit.

The real question isn’t whether AI browsers are better (they are), it’s whether they’re compelling enough to overcome the switching cost. For now, that jury’s still out.

Want to Try It Yourself?

Dia: Most user-friendly AI browser experience
Comet: Great for research-heavy tasks
DuckDuckGo: Clean, ad-free alternative with basic AI
Chrome: Still works, but feels increasingly dated