Aside

Aside is a browser, but its purpose is to serve as an AI assistant that can help you complete various tasks. Unlike intelligent agents that rely on API integration, it directly uses the websites and accounts you have already logged into to perform operations just like you would do yourself – whether it’s accessing your email, working on backend systems, using internal tools, or navigating pages that require payment. This is because it functions through the same browser interface as you use regularly.

Security design is a key aspect that this approach emphasizes: passwords are automatically filled into web forms by browsers, and authentication credentials do not pass through any processing models; irreversible actions such as making payments, posting content, or sending messages require explicit confirmation from the user; in addition, browsing history is stored locally on the device.

In the official browser agent performance rankings, it topped all three benchmarks: Online-Mind2Web, BU-Bench-V1, and Odyssey, achieving a score of 99.0% in the Online-Mind2Web benchmark. These figures come from the manufacturer’s own tests, but the specific evaluation criteria have not been made public, so it is advisable to approach these results with some caution when considering them.

The project is backed by investments from Y Combinator and is currently available for download on Windows and desktop platforms. Those who are willing to replace their regular browsers with this new tool, especially those whose work involves interacting with web systems that do not provide APIs, will benefit the most from using it.

Related reading: "Aside, Browser Usage, and ChatGPT’s Browser Proxy: 99% of the tests passed successfully, but one real-world migration attempt failed due to three key issues."