Agentic Browsers in 2026: How Maho Compares
Every browser wants to be an AI browser now. The problem is that most of them still stop at chat. They can summarize a page, answer a question, or rewrite some text, but they do not always take action.
That is the line this post uses for “agentic”: can the browser do things, not just talk about them. In practice, that means tool use, page context, tab awareness, and a clear permission model. It also means knowing where the browser stops. Some products are better at workflow automation. Others are better at private local use. A few are still mostly chat with a nicer wrapper.
If you are comparing browsers in 2026, the useful question is not “which one has AI?” It is “which one can help me work across pages, tabs, and tools without turning into a black box?”
What makes a browser agentic?
Section titled “What makes a browser agentic?”We used five simple checks.
Context awareness means the browser can see the current page, selected text, other tabs, and sometimes history or connected apps. Better context usually means fewer prompts and fewer copy-paste steps.
Tool calling means the browser can do something beyond chat. That might be opening tabs, searching history, reading page content, or calling external services.
Extensibility matters if you want the browser to fit real workflows. MCP support, skills, plugins, and other reusable actions make the browser more than a one-off assistant.
Privacy model covers where data goes, whether chats are stored, and whether the product trains on your prompts. For browser AI, this is not a side issue.
Open source is not required for usefulness, but it does change trust, auditability, and how much control you have over the product.
Comparison table
Section titled “Comparison table”| Browser | Agentic actions | Context | Extensibility | Privacy model | Open source | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maho | Yes, via MCP tools and write permissions | Current page, tabs, history, selected text, page body, headings, links, metadata | MCP, built-in tools, contextual suggestions | Local-first, no telemetry, BYOK | Yes | macOS only |
| Dia | Limited tool use, skills | Current page, other tabs, selected text, history, attachments, connected apps | Skills, app connections | Cloud AI, account-based | No | macOS only, Windows waitlist |
| Chrome + Gemini | Yes, multi-step auto browse | Page context, up to 10 tabs, history, tab comparison | No public MCP | Google account, cloud AI | Chromium core only | All platforms |
| Edge + Copilot | Yes, agent mode | Page context, multi-tab reasoning, Vision | Internal orchestration | Microsoft account, cloud AI, enterprise oriented | No | Desktop focused |
| Brave Leo | No autonomous actions | Page summaries, multi-tab context, coding help | Bring your own model, including local | Anonymous, no logs, no training | Yes | All platforms, including Linux |
| Opera Aria | Limited actions | Tab Island context, page access per chat, video context | Image and file generation, translation features | No training on chats, 30-day history retention | No | Desktop and mobile |
| SigmaOS Airis | Limited actions | Ask Anything, Look it up, Simplify, custom extraction | A1Kit | Not clearly positioned as local-first | No | macOS only |
Dia is one of the clearest examples of an AI-first browser. The chat is woven into the browser UI instead of living in a separate sidebar, and it can see the current page, other tabs, selected text, history, attachments, and connected apps like Gmail, Calendar, and Slack.
That makes Dia useful if your work already lives in those services. It can reach into the apps you use most and pull that context into the browser conversation. It also ships with Skills, which are reusable prompt plus tool workflows that help repeat common tasks.
The trade-off is agency. At launch, Dia was described as having “not much agency,” which still captures the shape of the product well. It can act on connected apps and browser state, but it is not built around open-ended tool extensibility. There is no public MCP for end users. Dia also had a prompt injection issue in fetch_web_content that was discovered and fixed, which is a useful reminder that browser AI needs careful guardrails.
Choose Dia if you want an AI-native browser with connected app context and you are comfortable with a cloud-first workflow. Choose Maho if you want local-first AI, explicit tool permissions, and a browser that is built around MCP rather than a closed skills system.
Chrome + Gemini
Section titled “Chrome + Gemini”Chrome with Gemini is the most clearly agentic option among the big browsers. It can share page context, compare tabs, search history, and work across up to 10 tabs. It also supports multi-step actions, which puts it closer to auto-browse behavior than most competitors.
That is useful when you want the browser to do more than summarize. It can move through a workflow, compare information, and keep its own context window filled with the pages you are working on. For a lot of users, that is the first browser AI experience that feels like actual task completion.
The downside is control. There is no public MCP for end users, and the model is tied to a Google account and cloud AI. Page content is shared when you use the feature, which may be fine for many people and unacceptable for others.
Choose Chrome + Gemini if you want the strongest built-in autonomous browsing behavior and you already live in Google services. Choose Maho if you want action through explicit tools, local-first storage, and a smaller trust surface.
Edge + Copilot
Section titled “Edge + Copilot”Edge + Copilot takes a similar path to Chrome, but with a different emphasis. The sidebar chat, Copilot Vision, and multi-tab reasoning are aimed at helping people work across the browser without leaving Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Its Copilot Mode and Agent Mode are the important parts here. They move beyond simple Q&A and into multi-step workflows. For enterprise users, the Microsoft account layer and integration story can matter more than a pure browser comparison.
The trade-off is that the orchestration is internal. There is no public MCP, and the browser is not trying to be a general-purpose tool host. It is a managed experience, not a programmable one.
Choose Edge + Copilot if you want Microsoft-centered workflows and enterprise familiarity. Choose Maho if you want a smaller, local-first browser assistant with transparent tool boundaries.
Brave Leo
Section titled “Brave Leo”Brave Leo is the privacy-first choice in this group. It is open source, it does not log chats in the way cloud assistants usually do, and it does not train on your conversations. It also supports bring your own model, including local models, which gives it a clear privacy story.
Leo is good at summaries, multi-tab context, and coding help. It is useful if you want AI inside the browser without handing everything to a vendor. That combination makes it attractive for people who care more about data handling than automation depth.
The limitation is agency. Leo is not autonomous, and it does not ship with public MCP support. It is an assistant, not a browser workflow engine.
Choose Brave Leo if privacy and model choice matter more than tool automation. Choose Maho if you want a local-first product with actual browser tools and a clearer action model.
Opera Aria
Section titled “Opera Aria”Opera Aria, now often called Opera AI, covers a broad range of browser assistance. It has Tab Island context, summaries, image generation, file generation, and YouTube video translation. It also makes page access opt-in per chat, which gives users more control over what gets shared.
That makes it a practical assistant for media-heavy browsing and content tasks. It is also one of the few products in this group that goes beyond text chat into generation features.
Its privacy model is fairly explicit, too. Opera says it does not train on chats, and history is retained for 30 days. The downside is that it is not open source, and the product is spread across desktop and mobile rather than focused on a single platform.
Choose Opera Aria if you want a broader consumer AI bundle with generation features. Choose Maho if you want a tighter browser-only assistant with local storage and no telemetry.
SigmaOS Airis
Section titled “SigmaOS Airis”SigmaOS Airis is the most narrowly framed of the group. Its surface area is built around “Ask Anything,” “Look it up,” and “Simplify,” with custom extraction via A1Kit.
That makes it useful for a small set of browser tasks, especially if you like SigmaOS’s workspace style. It is also macOS only, which keeps the platform story simple, but narrows its reach.
The main concern is momentum. It appears less actively developed than the major browser vendors and the better-funded AI browsers. It is not open source either, so you get less visibility into how the assistant is built.
Choose SigmaOS Airis if you already like SigmaOS and want a lightweight browser assistant. Choose Maho if you want a more explicit tool model, persistent conversation history, and an open source codebase.
Maho’s AI side panel is built around doing browser work, not just chatting about it. Conversations stream in the panel, render markdown, and persist in SQLite so they survive between sessions. That persistence matters because browser work is rarely a single prompt. It is usually a sequence of small decisions spread across several tabs.
The context model is also intentionally broad. Maho can read the active page’s headings, links, meta description, selected text, and up to 4,000 characters of body text. The page context is rich enough for summaries and comparisons without dumping the full page into the prompt. It can also reference multiple pages in one conversation, which is useful when you are comparing products, policies, or documents across tabs.
Tool use is the other core piece. Maho ships with 9 built-in MCP tools: list_tabs, get_active_tab, get_page_content, get_bookmarks, get_downloads, open_tab, close_tab, navigate_to, and search_history. Read-only tools run automatically. Write tools ask for approval first. That keeps the assistant useful without pretending it should click around freely on your behalf.
Maho also supports three LLM provider paths: OpenAI, Anthropic, and OpenAI-compatible servers such as Ollama or remote endpoints. BYOK keeps the model choice flexible. If you want local models, you can use them. If you want hosted models, you can do that too.
The UI tries to lower friction without hiding what is happening. Smart suggestion prompts offer contextual quick-action chips. Streaming responses can be cancelled. The app is native AppKit on macOS rather than Electron, which fits the current product shape and keeps the local-first story consistent.
The limitations are real. Maho does not do autonomous browsing like Chrome’s auto-browse flows. It does not generate images. It has no voice input or output. It is macOS only today. If you need cross-platform reach or a browser that can roam further on its own, other options may fit better.
Choose Maho if you want an open source, local-first browser AI panel with real tools, persistent conversation history, explicit permissions, and flexible model support. Choose something else if your top priority is autonomous browsing, mobile coverage, or a broader consumer AI bundle.
Verdict
Section titled “Verdict”There is no single winner here.
Choose Chrome + Gemini if you want the most aggressive built-in automation and live in Google’s stack. Choose Edge + Copilot if you want Microsoft’s enterprise path. Choose Brave Leo if privacy and local model choice are the main requirements. Choose Dia if you want an AI-native browser with connected app context. Choose Opera Aria if you want generation features alongside browser assistance. Choose SigmaOS Airis if you already work in SigmaOS and want a lighter assistant.
Choose Maho if you want browser AI that is explicit about context, tools, permissions, and storage. It is not the most autonomous browser on this list, and it does not try to be. It is built for users who want an agentic panel they can inspect, control, and extend.