My First Impressions Using an AI-Enabled Browser

For the past few months, I’ve been browsing with Dia, an AI-enabled browser that feels familiar but also surprisingly new. It looks and acts a lot like Chrome, but it doesn’t feel like Chrome. That difference is hard to describe until you’ve used it yourself, but it’s enough to keep me reaching for it as my daily driver.

Why I Like Using Dia

The biggest shift is the AI chat that lives inside the browser. I actually use it a lot. The integration isn’t tacked on; it’s woven into the way I already browse which has made it easier and more intuitive to use.

One of my favorite features is the ability to reference open tabs in a conversation. I’ve used this constantly while shopping. Instead of bouncing between tabs, I can just ask Dia to compare the two products I’m looking at or to find me alternatives elsewhere. It’s like having a personal research assistant sitting next to me while I browse. This has been extremely helpful in comparison pricing across websites.

Another thing I’ve appreciated is how considerate the browser is about preferences. For example, when setting up how I'd like Dia's AI responses to be, I asked it always give me a TLDR whenever I prompted it. Sure enough, it delivered, every single time. The consistency was almost too good—it was so locked into my preference that I ended up turning it off to get back to longer, more thoughtful answers. That sort of attentiveness makes the experience feel personal and I'm sure if I spent more time tailoring how I like my responses, I can optimize it even further. For now, I'd like to spend more time on other use cases.

I’m also intrigued by actions, which seem to go beyond just answering questions. I haven’t found the right use cases in my casual browsing yet, but I can imagine them becoming powerful, especially in a work setting. I’m curious to see how Dia positions itself for enterprise use, where AI integrations could really break through. We may even see that sooner since The Browser Company has been acquired by Atlassian, whose enterprise software like Jira and Confluence is ubiquitous in corporate workflows.

What I Don’t Like (Yet)

The one thing that frustrates me is that I don’t know what AI model I’m actually using—and I can’t control it. I’d love the option to choose between different models, maybe even run something locally if I wanted. I understand that Dia has probably fine-tuned things to make the experience seamless, but for someone like me, model choice matters.

How the AI Has Been Helpful

There are hints of Arc Search in Dia, and that’s a big compliment. I was a heavy Arc Search user on iOS because it helped me cut through endless blue links on Google. Dia feels like it’s channeling some of that spirit by making browsing less about sifting and more about finding.

What’s Missing

Coming from Arc, I’ll admit I’m biased. There are features I miss, like vertical tabs, though I was happy to see them finally arrive in a recent update. The one thing I'm not a fan of is that I can't hide them and have the clean browsing experience. Dia is young, so I’m hopeful more of those quality-of-life features will make their way over.

Final Thoughts

Dia sits in an interesting spot. It’s not just a browser with AI slapped on—it’s a browser that’s trying to rethink how we use AI while browsing. I like where it’s going. It’s already changed how I shop online, research, and cut through noise. At the same time, it’s early, and I’m excited to see how it evolves—especially if it can bring more control, more enterprise applications, and more of those thoughtful little touches that make it stand apart.

For those interested in a deeper diver, Stephen Robles did a great video on Comet, which is Perplexity's version of Dia. He highlights a lot of the same sentiments I had on Dia and some of the cool features unique to Comet.

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