ChatGPT's Chrome extension can now read and control your open tabs

OpenAI has upgraded its ChatGPT extension for Google Chrome so the assistant can use your open tabs, 9to5Google reported on October 16, 2026. OpenAI described the change in a thread on X earlier in the week, and the updated extension is available in the Chrome Web Store.

There are two levels. In a normal chat, ChatGPT can look across the tabs you have open and use them to answer a question, such as comparing several product pages or explaining an article in plain words. It can also act inside those tabs: fill out forms, send messages, download files, and sort or group a messy tab bar. OpenAI's examples include copying vendor details from several tabs into a comparison sheet, and filling a registration form from an event brief while stopping before it submits. There is also a sidebar, much like the Gemini panel already built into Chrome. Because the extension works inside your own browser profile, it can reach sites where you are already signed in. That makes it useful, but it also means you should think about which sites you let it act on.

Why it matters

Browser agents are moving into everyday tabs, which changes how web apps get used and raises new questions about permissions.

Source: 9to5Google