Arc Search: The AI Browser of the Future?

A New Take on AI...

Released for iOS on January 28, 2024, Arc Search is a new type of mobile browser. As one would expect from the startup that pushed the boundaries of web browsing technology last summer with their Arc browser for desktop (now in beta on Windows), Arc Search aims to change the way the mobile browser market operates. With a strong focus on AI and a very minimalist design, the focus here appears to be on speed and efficiency. This app is very different from Arc desktop, or the short-lived Arc Mobile, and is intended to be a stand-alone product. There is a lot of hype already about this app, but let's dive deeper and see how it stacks up. (Since Arc Search isn't a browser in the traditional sense, this review will be a bit different than usual, but I will still grade the app at the end on the same categories.)

The User Experience

"Browse For Me." This button label basically sums up the purpose and functionality of Arc Search: a browser that browses for you. Using OpenAI's GPT models (and presumably some other AI programs and algorithms), Arc Search looks at six different sites relevant to your search and summarizes them in a webpage format. The result pages are put together nicely, and are reminiscent of Arc Desktop's release notes pages, with images, embedded videos, and bullet points with emoji headers. The system appears to be based off of the Easels framework that BCNY developed for their desktop browser. The result page also includes links to all sources so you can research further. You can also use normal search engines in the browser or access websites directly.

The interface is very clean and minimal. There are three visible buttons: a tab stack that looks like the iOS app launcher, the search button, and a pop-up menu which reveals the address bar and a few basic settings. This minimalism comes with some major drawbacks. Using the back button or reloading requires two clicks because those buttons and the address bar are hidden in the pop-up menu. There is also a reader mode which renders websites similarly to the "Browse for Me" results, and an archive where you can see closed tabs. Like Arc Desktop, tabs are automatically archived after a day of inactivity, but this duration can be adjusted in settings.

Browse For Me in action

A+

Bard on Arc Search

A+

AI System

As anyone who's played with ChatGPT can tell you, AIs aren't the best at telling the truth (it's so common it even has a name: hallucination), and Arc Search is no different. While it seems pretty reliable and got the majority of the facts right in my testing, it did mess up on some of the more minor details. When asked about the winners of the 2015 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), Arc got the top 3 contestants, date, and venue right, but erroneously claimed they won gold, silver, and bronze medals when in fact the top 27 all won gold. While this was a minor detail, it goes to show that the system is still fallible and shouldn't be used as a definitive source. These hallucinations aren't a particularly big issue for Arc Search's intended use case: quick and efficient lookups on the go. Just don't use it for research.

In terms of ability to present information, Arc Search is very good. Not only can it summarize a topic, but it can also form comparisons and combine the information in useful formats such as itineraries. However, it is important to note that it is not just a chatbot with a nice interface. It generates website-type results, so you can't have a conversation with it or use it to write an essay or email. If you want to do that, you still need a traditional chatbot like Bard (Update 8/29/2024: Google Bard is now called Gemini), which goes very well with Arc Search's minimal interface.

Some Final Thoughts

Arc Search is part of Act II of Arc, which also includes current and future releases of Arc Max software for the desktop browser. All of these features involve using AI in innovative ways to make a more efficient web browser. Many people have mixed feelings about the level of AI in the browser, and what AI scraping will do to site revenues (and therefore creators and the content they produce) if browsers like Arc take a significant portion of the market share. However, most of the new features do open websites directly, and even Arc Search's "Browse for Me" still includes plenty of links to its sources. I think the vast majority of people will still need to access sites on a regular basis, even with these AI features.

As for the software itself, it's amazing. The UX team at BCNY has gone above and beyond again with the interface of this app. It is a very polished and well-built piece of software (especially for a version 1 with only a few months of development time). The interface is very minimal, almost too minimal (the app is still in development). However, it excels at its intended function: bringing lots of information to the user quickly. I don't think Arc Search can replace a traditional mobile browser for the time being, but that wasn't the goal. As a companion app, it can simplify and streamline your mobile workflow. If quick portable information is what you need, Arc Search can certaintly deliver.

But What About Privacy?

Arc Search is an AI product, and most AI systems have really bad privacy policies, as I saw firsthand when I reviewed several chatbots last summer. Arc uses OpenAI for most of its AI capabilities, including Arc Search. However, Arc actually passes very little data to OpenAI for its "Browse for Me" feature. Per their privacy policy, they collect only the "Content of the command bar" and the contents of the search results to be summarized. Basically, the absolute minimum amount of data necessary for the system to function, and only when you click the button. Arc claims that none of the data is retained by OpenAI. The privacy policy opens with a letter to users showing that they truly care about privacy, and is easily legible for non-lawyers. No invasive first-party telemetry here.

As for website tracking, while Arc's blocker doesn't display statistics, it scored fairly well on EFF's Panopticlick test, even outperforming the desktop browser with a less unique fingerprint (12.45 bits to Arc Desktop and Brave's 17.9). Combined with the fact that most users won't be using many third-party sites on Arc Search, this is a good result

Overall Grade: A-

With a great interface and solid privacy, Arc Search could easily be an A+ browser someday. However, it lacks a lot of features. It is difficult to do any kind of multitasking, and the browser doesn't offer sync or access to Arc notes and easels from the desktop browser. Arc Search was only released last week, but for the time being, it is somewhat difficult to navigate beyond "Browse for Me" results.

This article was published on February 2, 2024 under Browser Reviews. Last updated on August 29, 2024.

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