Model Labs Could Absorb Browser Layer

The real threat is not that computer use makes Browserbase unnecessary, it is that the model labs could absorb the browser layer and turn it into a bundled feature. Today, production browser agents still rely on a hybrid stack because pure vision is slower and more expensive than reading HTML or DOM structure directly. Browserbase’s value is the hosted, observable, repeatable browser workforce around that stack, not just the click model itself.

• Browserbase is selling cloud browsers, not only model access. It spins up isolated browser sessions, records every run, supports live human takeover, and plugs into Playwright, Puppeteer, and Selenium. That infrastructure matters when a company needs hundreds of parallel sessions instead of one agent browsing on a laptop.
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• The market evidence points to hybrid automation winning for now. Asteroid uses Playwright for interaction, text models for DOM aware navigation, and screenshot based computer use only where needed. That reflects a practical reality, pure vision can handle messy screens, but HTML based control is still better for speed, cost, and repeatability.
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• The strategic risk is vertical integration by OpenAI and Anthropic. Both are rapidly improving agent and tool use capabilities, and their scale gives them room to subsidize browsing inside broader products. If customers can buy a model that already includes reliable browser execution, standalone browser infrastructure gets pushed toward commodity pricing.
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Over time, the winning browser automation layer is likely to look less like brittle scripts and more like a scheduler that routes each task between APIs, HTML aware automation, and vision models. That favors companies that own execution infrastructure, security, and monitoring. It also means Browserbase has to keep moving up the stack before foundation models close the gap.