ChatGPT can now read and act in your open Chrome tabs, so set the rules first
OpenAI's upgraded Chrome extension lets ChatGPT work in tabs you already have open, including signed-in ones. A short team rule before anyone installs it costs very little.
By Jason Sibley
What happened
OpenAI has upgraded the ChatGPT extension for Google Chrome, as The Verge reported on Thursday 15 October 2026. The ChatGPT Atlas browser is gone. Instead, OpenAI is building on the Chrome extension, which works with the tabs you already have open.
OpenAI says ChatGPT can view your tabs when you install the extension and tag Chrome in the ChatGPT web or desktop app. The demo showed someone asking ChatGPT to compare three open tabs of sofas.
OpenAI's other examples include turning vendors in open tabs into a comparison sheet with pricing, key features and source links. Another fills in a registration form from an event brief, then stops before submitting. The ChatGPT sidebar now has "the full power of ChatGPT" and your conversation history in Chat or Work.
ChatGPT Work can also "control" your tabs to send messages or fill out forms. It can download files, too, and organise and group open tabs. The Verge compares it to Google's Gemini-powered "auto browse".
OpenAI says the extension also works in Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. Its page adds that ChatGPT "can read or act on sites where you're already signed in, such as LinkedIn, Salesforce, Gmail, or internal tools."
Setup starts in the ChatGPT desktop app under Settings > Computer Use. Then you start a ChatGPT Work chat and @-mention the browser. By default, ChatGPT asks before interacting with each new website. The choices are Allow once, Allow for this site, Allow for all sites or Decline. OpenAI says availability can depend on rollout and your workspace settings. Check your app.
Separately, the ICO opened a call for evidence on agentic AI on 8 October 2026, closing on 20 November 2026. It wants to understand how organisations manage the data protection risks of AI that can take actions. This isn't guidance yet.
Sources: The Verge, ChatGPT Learn: Browser extension, ICO: Agentic AI call for evidence
What it means for a small business
It takes on familiar copy-and-paste work, such as comparing supplier quotes or pulling details into a spreadsheet. Form filling, too.
The risk sits in the same place. ChatGPT works in the browser profile where you're already signed in, so it can reach whatever that profile can reach. That might include the inbox, CRM or accounting. Online banking and customer records could be there too. A member of staff could point ChatGPT at one of those tabs before anyone has decided the rules.
The permission choice matters most. OpenAI says to pick "Allow for all sites" only if you trust ChatGPT to use any website open in the browser. Chrome's install prompt may also mention "Read and change all your data on all websites" and "Manage your downloads". Read before clicking.
OpenAI says it stores browser activity only when that activity becomes part of the chat, such as text read from a page or a screenshot. It also advises avoiding secrets or highly sensitive data in browser tasks unless they're needed and you're there to review each prompt.
And OpenAI warns that pages can contain misleading content. Read the page before approving anything. If customer data or UK GDPR comes into it, check with your adviser.
What you can do this week
- Decide who in the business may install the ChatGPT extension, and on which browser profile. A profile with fewer logins is a calmer place to start.
- Never choose "Allow for all sites". Use Allow once, or allow a single site you've thought about.
- Add your bank, payroll and customer-record sites to the blocklist. In Settings > Computer Use, select Manage next to your browser.
- Try ChatGPT on a low-risk task first, such as comparing three supplier pages into a sheet. End your instruction with "stop before submitting", and read each prompt before approving it.
- Write a two-line team note on what ChatGPT may and may not touch. Keep it with your data protection notes.
How we can help
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