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Browser Company, the company behind Arc Browser for both desktop and mobile, teased its new web browser on Monday called Dia — and this time, it’s focused on AI tools. In the past few years, the startup has launched Arc on Mac and Windows and Arc Search on iOS and Android, but the company is starting to work on a new product with broader appeal.
The browser is scheduled to launch in early 2025. The startup has launched a new website that shows a video about the browser and lists the various open roles at the company.
“AI will not exist as an app. Or a button. We think it will be a completely new environment, built on the web browser.
In the video, Browser CEO, Josh Miller, some prototypes of some of its features. One demo showed off an insertion cursor tool, which will help you type your next sentence or fetch facts from the Internet when writing about a well-known topic, such as the launch of the original iPhone and its specifications. The tool also seems to understand your browser window and can fetch Amazon links you’ve opened for inclusion in an email with a basic description.
The second demo shows that users can type commands into the address bar to perform various actions, such as fetching a document based on the description, emailing it to someone based on your preferred email client that you use in the browser, and scheduling a meeting in the calendar through a natural language prompt.
Some of these features look like what any browser-based writing or calendar tools would already do, and we won’t know their usefulness or uniqueness until we actually get to use Dia.
The third demo is more ambitious: It shows the browser performing actions on your behalf, such as adding items from a list you got via email to your Amazon shopping cart. Dia does this by browsing Amazon on its own, finding these items and adding them to your cart. In the demo, the listing says “Multi-Purpose Hammer,” and the auto-browse function adds an Amazon listing for two grip hammers. I have no idea if this is the right choice, but it’s likely that it won’t make the optimal decision every time right out of the gate – we’ve already seen that with the Rabbit R1.
Another example shows the browser looking at a Notion table filled with member details while shooting a video. Dia can send an email to each participant individually.
The browser company is not unique in thinking about building an AI assistant that will understand the interface and do tasks for you. Many startups have demos, concepts, and visions of AI models and tools that can control your screen.
in Video from last monthMiller hinted at building new products for fans, while assuring existing users that he doesn’t plan to interfere too much with Arc’s design and business. Miller admitted that although Arc has an enthusiastic and growing user base, its complexity may not appeal to all users. The challenge for the company is to produce a browser with AI features that works seamlessly and can create revenue streams for the company.
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