ChatGPT now sits in a Chrome sidebar and can read your open tabs

What OpenAI added to Chrome

OpenAI has upgraded its ChatGPT extension for Google Chrome, and the result is much closer to having the full ChatGPT experience inside the browser. As TechRadar reported, the new version adds a sidebar that stays open next to whatever you are reading. You do not have to switch to a separate tab or window to ask a question.

The sidebar can also look across several open tabs, and a feature called ChatGPT Work goes a step further. Instead of only answering questions about a page, it can interact with websites and carry out tasks for you. Access to those more advanced actions depends on your account.

In short, ChatGPT becomes a companion that follows you around the web, ready to help while you stay on the page you were already reading.

How to get it and what it does

Setup is simple. You install the official ChatGPT extension from the Chrome Web Store and sign in to your ChatGPT account. The sidebar then appears alongside your pages. To let it use information from other open tabs, you have to grant the necessary permissions first.

The reviewer's favorite use is research. Say you have several articles open about the same announcement. You can ask ChatGPT to compare how each one covers it, point out where they disagree, or explain a part that is still unclear. Before, you would have copied passages into a separate chat. Now the assistant works with the pages already in front of you.

Shopping is another natural fit. Comparing products across retailers usually means flipping between tabs and trying to remember which listing had the better deal. ChatGPT can look at those pages together and help organize the details. The review adds a sensible warning: prices and key product details still need to be checked by you.

A test run: filling in a form

The more ambitious feature is ChatGPT Work. To try it, the reviewer opened the registration page for a free technology webinar. They asked ChatGPT Work to complete the form, with a clear instruction to stop before submitting anything.

It did not know every answer. When it reached an industry category, it stopped and asked the reviewer what to pick instead of guessing. That is the behavior you want from a tool acting on your behalf.

Even so, the reviewer treated a final check as essential. A small mistake in a registration form can be more annoying than filling it out yourself. The takeaway is that these automation features look promising, but their value will depend on how reliable they are and how much supervision they need.

Why the browser is a battleground

Google makes Chrome, the world's most popular browser, and has been working to make its own assistant, Gemini, a bigger part of it. That gives Gemini a built-in advantage: it is already there, and many people will use whatever is closest.

OpenAI's move is a way to blunt that advantage. If ChatGPT feels almost as natural inside Chrome, its users have less reason to switch assistants just because Google's is nearby. Chrome gives Google a route to introduce Gemini to a huge audience, but it gives OpenAI access to those same people.

For existing ChatGPT users, the appeal is familiarity. OpenAI does not have to persuade them to learn a new tool. It simply makes one they already use easier to reach. The reviewer's verdict is that people who rely on ChatGPT every day get a worthwhile upgrade, while not every Chrome user needs an AI looking over their shoulder.

Trust, permissions and checking the answers

Giving an assistant a view of your tabs is a real decision. Your tabs may include sites where you are already signed in, and an AI that can act on those sites has real reach. OpenAI includes permission controls, but the reviewer stresses that you still need to decide what to allow and which websites the assistant may use.

Accuracy matters too. Reading several pages does not guarantee ChatGPT will understand every detail, especially if a site has unusual formatting or hides important information behind interactive elements. A confident summary is not a substitute for checking the original source when the answer matters.

• Grant tab access only when you need it.
• Think about what is open before you ask it to read across tabs.
• Review anything it fills in before you submit.