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Atlas by Comet Lab
Capability layer

Browser automation, compared

Browser automation lets code, or an agent, use a website the way a person does, which matters wherever there is no API. It comes in three parts: the library that drives the browser, the AI layer that decides what to do, and the infrastructure that runs browsers at scale.

Learn the idea What an AI agent is, and what changes when AI takes action on Horizon

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At a glance

Every tool in this layer, with where it fits and the facts that usually decide it.

Tool Where it fits Licence Self-hostable Hosted API Maturity
Playwright Browser automation library The dependable foundation whenever code (or an agent) has to operate a real browser, especially for sites with no API. Open source Yes No Mature
Browser Use AI browser agent A fit when an agent must complete goal-directed tasks on sites with no API, and the steps vary too much to script by hand. Open source Yes Yes Growing
Browserbase Managed browser infrastructure The right call when agents browse at scale and you do not want to run, patch, and scale browser infrastructure yourself. Proprietary No Yes Growing
Browserless Browser infrastructure A fit when you need managed headless-browser infrastructure but want to keep it inside your own environment. Source available Yes Yes Established
Playwright MCP Browser MCP server A fit when you want to give an MCP-aware agent browser control without writing a custom integration. Open source Yes No Growing
Puppeteer Browser automation library A fit for Node.js projects that need straightforward Chrome automation and value a mature, stable library. Open source Yes No Mature
Selenium Browser automation library A fit where the widest browser and language coverage matters, or a team has deep existing Selenium investment. Open source Yes No Mature
Stagehand AI browser framework A fit when a browser task is mostly stable but has a few fragile steps better handled by natural language than selectors. Open source Yes No Growing
Steel Browser infrastructure A fit when agents need managed browser sessions and you want the choice between hosted and self-hosted. Open source Yes Yes Growing

How to choose

Start from your situation. Where a line says “our”, it comes from Comet Lab’s own builds.

  1. The steps are known and stable

    Script them directly: a deterministic script beats an agent for a flow that never changes. Playwright is our default browser layer.

  2. Most steps are stable, and a few keep breaking

    Natural-language actions on top of Playwright, for the fragile steps that selectors handle badly.

  3. The task varies too much to script

    An agent works towards a goal given in natural language. When a flow is stable, a script is steadier and cheaper.

  4. An MCP-aware agent needs a browser

    Browser control for the agent without writing a custom integration.

  5. Agents browse at scale

    Browserbase is fully managed; Browserless runs inside your own environment; Steel lets you choose between the two.

  6. An existing Node.js or Selenium codebase

    Mature and stable, and rarely the pick for a fresh project.