AI Browsers Compared: Edge Copilot Controls, Chrome Gemini, Comet and Brave Privacy

TechRepublic's picks are Chrome as best overall, Comet for agentic browsing, Edge for Microsoft users, Brave for privacy, and Dia for work that spans several apps. These are editorial judgments, not benchmark results. The page also carries an affiliate disclosure saying vendor relationships may affect product placement. For Windows users and IT admins, the more useful question is what each browser actually lets its AI do, who can use it, and which controls exist.

The Five Browsers at a Glance​

Prices and rollout status for these services change often. Treat the table as a snapshot and check it before you buy.

Microsoft Edge with Copilot​

What consumers get​

TechRepublic says Copilot in Edge can summarize webpages, videos, and PDFs, compare information across tabs, answer questions about the current page, and use Copilot Vision for conversations about what's on screen. Microsoft's May 13, 2026 Edge update made several of these widely available. Multi-tab reasoning, answers informed by browsing history and past chats, and Voice and Vision are now available to everyone on desktop and mobile.

The agentic feature is Browse with Copilot, and access to it is narrow. Microsoft's Edge blog states that as part of retiring Copilot Mode, Copilot Actions, previously available in Limited Preview, is now available as Browse with Copilot on Edge desktop for Microsoft 365 Premium Subscribers in the U.S. only. Usage limits apply. Microsoft's support documentation says the same, noting the feature is rolling out to US Premium subscribers with additional markets to follow.

If you're eligible, starting a session is straightforward, according to Microsoft Support:

1. Open Copilot in Edge. In the Copilot text box, select Browse with Copilot, then enter your request.
2. To act on the page you're viewing, start your prompt with phrases like "In my browser…" or "On my current page…".
3. For other jobs, begin with action-oriented phrases such as "Open…", "Find…", "Book…", or "Add…".
4. Keep an eye on it. The tab where Copilot is working shows a cursor icon in the tab menu, so you can easily locate it and monitor its actions. You can interrupt or take control at any time.

Microsoft is open about the risks. It describes the feature as experimental and says it may misinterpret instructions, make mistakes, or be affected by malicious hidden instructions on web pages, so Microsoft recommends monitoring its activity closely. Built-in safeguards include Edge blocklists for high-risk categories such as gambling and adult content, site-level access controls, and a consent dialog on first use. Microsoft also tells users to keep banking, credit card, government ID, and medical information out of agentic sessions.

TechRepublic adds that, according to Microsoft, Copilot can't reach saved passwords, autofill data, or wallet information while browsing. It can still use existing cookies, though, so it operates inside any site where you're already signed in. Put plainly: Copilot doesn't get your password vault, but it does get your logged-in sessions. An agent in a signed-in webmail tab can do real damage without ever seeing a password.

What businesses get​

TechRepublic says business availability is more restricted, with Browse with Copilot still in a limited opt-in preview for enterprise tenants. Microsoft's May 20, 2026 Edge for Business announcement confirms the preview and describes controls consumers don't have:

• Policy-gated enablement. Agentic browsing has its own policy and only runs on sites IT designates.
• Purview enforcement. Data protection rules, such as limits on copying and pasting sensitive data, stay in force while Copilot is browsing.
• User oversight. Visual indicators show when Copilot is acting, users can pause or stop it, and it pauses for user input before entering passwords or credit card numbers.
• Licensing and region. The preview is available worldwide with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, except in the European Economic Area. Admins request to join.

Microsoft also says Copilot Mode is being split into granular controls, so admins can enable individual AI features one at a time instead of flipping one big switch. Existing Copilot Mode configurations will be honored. A separate Purview-based "shadow AI" protection can audit or block sensitive prompts and uploads to common consumer AI apps and redirect users to Microsoft 365 Copilot. That protection requires Microsoft 365 E5 and uses pay-as-you-go pricing.

For IT, the key point is that the consumer Premium rollout and the enterprise preview are separate programs with different licenses, regions, and controls. A Premium subscription at home tells you nothing about what your tenant allows. TechRepublic's advice that these controls "deserve configuration rather than assumption" is sound.

Section summary: Edge's everyday AI features are broadly available. Its agentic mode is US-only and Premium-only for consumers, and in limited preview for businesses, where it comes with the strongest admin controls in this group.

Google Chrome with Gemini​

TechRepublic ranks Chrome first because it combines a familiar browser, the Chrome Web Store, and Gemini features that summarize pages, compare tabs, connect to Gmail and Calendar, and answer questions about videos. Auto browse goes further: it navigates sites, fills forms, compares products, adds items to carts, and handles reservations.

The catch, per TechRepublic, is eligibility. You need a personal Google account, English, a supported desktop Chrome build, and an AI Pro or Ultra subscription. TechRepublic reports AI Pro at $19.99 a month in the US, with up to 20 multi-step Auto browse requests per day and a higher cap on Ultra.

One correction to TechRepublic's desktop-only framing: Google announced on August 18, 2026 that Gemini in Chrome is available to all US Android users, and that AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on Android in the US can use Auto browse. Google says Auto browse asks for confirmation before completing some sensitive tasks. Desktop and Android eligibility should be treated as separate.

Perplexity Comet​

TechRepublic says Comet puts the agent at the center of the browser. It can analyze pages, compare tabs, summarize videos and PDFs, write emails, schedule meetings, fill forms, and make purchases. It runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Because it's built on Chromium, desktop users can import Chrome bookmarks, history, passwords, and extensions.

The browser is free, but agent queries require a paid plan starting at $20 a month for Perplexity Pro, according to TechRepublic. The site warns that this much autonomy means you should watch which logged-in accounts the assistant can reach. The security research below backs that up.

Brave with Leo​

Brave's pitch is privacy first, AI second. TechRepublic says Leo can summarize pages and PDFs, translate, write, and help with code without an account, and that Brave says it doesn't retain chats or use them for training. Brave's own pricing page confirms Leo Premium at $14.99 a month ($149.99 a year), with more models, higher rate limits, early access to new features, and a 7-day free trial.

TechRepublic calls Brave's agentic browsing "early testing," and Brave's own documentation shows how cautious it is:

• It's off by default and enabled through the "Brave's AI browsing" flag in brave://flags.
• It must be started manually from Leo's message box.
• It runs in a separate, isolated profile, so cookies and logged-in state from your main profile don't carry over.
• It can't access internal pages, non-HTTPS pages, the Chrome Web Store, or sites flagged by Safe Browsing.

The isolated profile directly addresses the "inherited session" problem that TechRepublic raises about Edge and Comet. Brave itself says its safeguards reduce prompt-injection risk but don't eliminate it. A vendor's description of its own design is not independent proof that the design works.

Dia​

Dia focuses on bringing together context from your browser and your work tools rather than on general web automation. TechRepublic lists Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Figma, and Microsoft Teams as integrations. Dia's plans page shows Slack, Gmail, Notion, Outlook, GitHub, Google Calendar, and Figma, but not Teams. Microsoft-centric shops should confirm Teams support before counting on it.

The prices match Dia's own site. Better Browser is free and has no AI features. Better Answers costs $20 a month and adds chat that draws on your tools, tabs, and documents. Better Days costs $100 a month and adds six times the usage, a daily Morning Brief, recaps, reports, decks, and meeting prep. Usage is measured in "Tasks." New users get a 14-day Better Days trial without a credit card.

For Windows readers, TechRepublic says Dia targets macOS and that the company promises a Windows version this fall. Dia's plans page says paid plans are starting with new Mac users and that Windows users aren't affected yet. Until Dia ships and prices a Windows version, it isn't a real option for most Windows desks.

On privacy, TechRepublic says Dia stores history, bookmarks, chats, and files locally by default, but sends the data needed for AI requests through its servers and AI providers. Dia may also use some content data to improve its product unless you opt out.

Section summary: Chrome and Comet offer the most autonomy, Brave the most caution, and Dia is mostly a Mac product for now.

The Security Research Behind the Warnings​

TechRepublic cites University of Washington research, and the details matter. Franziska Roesner and David Kohlbrenner tested seven agentic browsers in late January and early February 2026 on macOS Sequoia, using the stable versions available then. The seven were Brave Leo, ChatGPT Atlas, Chrome with Gemini, Claude for Chrome, Edge with Copilot, Firefox AI Mode, and Comet.

The core problem involves the same-origin policy, the rule that stops one website from reading another site's content. If an agent can see content from several origins and falls for a prompt injection, the researchers found that the same-origin policy becomes only as strong as the agent's resistance to that injection. For example, a malicious page could trick the agent into copying data from an embedded banking frame into a form that sends it to the attacker.

What the researchers actually found:

• They demonstrated a full cross-origin data theft only on ChatGPT Atlas in Agent Mode. TechRepublic reports that OpenAI discontinued Atlas on August 9, 2026.
• They found the preconditions for that attack, assuming a prompt injection succeeds, in Chrome with Gemini, Claude for Chrome, and Comet. That is not the same as breaching those products.
• They rated Brave, Edge, and Firefox as having more limited agentic features but stronger security properties at the time. Their harshest warning was about Claude for Chrome, because as an extension it can inject JavaScript into pages.

One disclosure is worth noting. The researchers acknowledge that the work was partly funded by gifts from Microsoft. Nothing suggests that changed the results, and Edge's relatively good showing fits its more restricted design. Readers should still know about the funding. The findings also apply only to the versions tested last winter, and the Edge they tested came before the current Browse with Copilot rollout.

A practical checklist​

This is my own synthesis of the vendor documentation and the UW findings:

1. Use a separate profile for agents. Brave does this automatically. On other browsers, run agentic sessions in a profile that isn't signed into your bank, health portal, or admin consoles.
2. Read every confirmation prompt before letting an agent send messages, buy things, or change account settings.
3. Keep admin accounts out of agent sessions entirely. An agent operating inside an Entra or Intune admin portal session is a bad idea.
4. Enterprises should allowlist sites. Edge for Business's site-scoped policy exists for this purpose, so use it rather than enabling the agent everywhere.
5. Assume prompt injection can happen. Every vendor here, Microsoft included, says it can't fully prevent it.

The Bottom Line​

TechRepublic's rankings are reasonable if you read them as use-case recommendations rather than a leaderboard. Chrome is the safe mainstream choice. Comet is for people who want the browser to do the work. Brave is for people who want AI without giving up privacy. Dia is interesting mainly if you're on a Mac.

For WindowsForum readers, Edge's position is more nuanced than "best for Microsoft users" suggests. Its consumer agent is locked behind a US-only Premium subscription. Its enterprise agent is still a limited preview, but it has the policy scoping, Purview enforcement, and tenant controls the others lack. If your organization is on Microsoft 365, Edge for Business is the one option where IT can decide in policy what the agent may do, rather than relying on users to be careful.