Burkov: Chrome ruled the human web, but Google has no answer to the agentic harness
burkov · x · 2026-10-25
ML author Andriy Burkov lays out Google's strategic dilemma in the agentic web era.
- When the web became the new world economy, controlling the browser meant controlling the entry point. Google built Chrome — then the best and fastest browser, with an extension ecosystem offering virtually infinite features — and stayed ahead, preventing any rival from building a compelling enough alternative.
- Now everyone realizes whoever controls the agentic harness controls the new agentic web, which is replacing the human web where the browser rules.
- Unless Google has a plan to transform Chrome into an agentic harness, he doesn't see how it keeps its position as the entry point to the web.
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