There’s been a recent flurry of AI tools that can go online and do things on your behalf. OpenAI’s Operator is a powerful and expensive AI Agent. At the same time, the more makeshift Browser Use offers a thriftier option for those who want AI to automate their online errands. The latest example drawing attention is Proxy 1.0, created by Convergence AI. Proxy boasted of being able to multitask online and handling everything except final approval for you.
I wanted to try it out, but you only get five sessions a day for free, so I decided to mimic the test I did with Browser Use. After linking it to my Google account, I was presented with the Proxy interface and started my test run. Unlike Browser Use, though, I could submit the prompts quickly as I didn’t have to wait for one to finish before sending the next.
Purchase Proxy
As with Browser Use, I started with a shopping advice request: “Navigate to Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart and search for ‘MacBook Air M2’. Extract the product name, price, and stock availability from the first five results on each site. Compare the prices and identify the lowest one. If discounts or coupons are present, record them. Provide a final summary with the best deal and where to buy it.”
Proxy eventually offered a couple of the best options at each outlet and its own reccommendations. It took a little bit longer than Browser Use and certainly slower than doing it manually, but it was nice to have it running without me having to keep an eye on it.
AI travel agent
I next asked Proxy for help with travel planning with the prompt: “Search for a round-trip flight between New York and London leaving Dec 15, 2025, and returning December 21, 2025. Select the cheapest option and extract details, including price, airline, and departure time.
This was a bit of a mixed bag. While Proxy did find a shockingly cheap flight of about $430, it put it in British Pounds for some reason. Still, the small airport flight with a stop in Iceland at that price is not bad.
Meteorologist AI
I went back to the always helpful test of finding and explaining the weather forecast and what I should wear by asking Poxy to: “Check the 7-day weather forecast for New York City on weather.com and summarize temperature trends, rain chances, and any severe weather warnings and then suggest how to dress for it.”
The AI did fine pulling up the forecast and extracting details about what to expect. The AI went somewhat bland in its suggestions about what to wear, recommending an umbrella on a rainy day and warm clothing most days to deal with the cold. But, it doesn’t have to be exciting to be useful when it’s the weather.
Meteor
On its own, Proxy 1.0 is amazing. It doesn’t have to dazzle you to convince you of its usefulness. The AI doesn’t pretend to be human and make conversation. It just gets things done. It’s not perfect, and I had to experiment with wording my prompts to get the best answers, but not enough to be overly frustrating. I can see it being very appealing if I were someone’s personal assistant or had to juggle a complex home life. For busy people who don’t want to waste time navigating to and through websites, it’s valuable.
Browser Use felt more like an open-source science project. It’s powerful, but it requires a fair bit of setup and tinkering, making it more high-maintenance, though you get great results if you’re willing to put in the effort. That DIY flexibility is excellent if your interests and skills trend that way, especially if you want a more conversational interaction, but I prefer the streamlined Proxy.
OpenAI’s Operator is supposed to be the ultimate hands-free, natural-language-powered web assistant. But at $200 a month, it’s not for anyone who casually plays with AI tools. There are reports that it also frequently asks for help when it hits an obstacle, which sort of defeats the purpose of having an AI do the work for you.
Proxy 1.0 sits somewhere in the middle of both those alternatives. Compared to how you can almost see Browser Use’s scaffolding, you get a complete product without breaking the bank like Operator. I also like how it’s more proactive in overcoming obstacles rather than immediately asking for help. The pace at which Proxy completes tasks can be a little annoying. I found I could complete the prompts quite a bit faster than Proxy, but the point is with the AI, I didn’t have to.
Anything that lets me offload my least favorite online chores is worth keeping around, especially as it’s likely to keep getting better. If Convergence AI keeps improving Proxy, I might even start trusting the AI agent with my most sacred digital task: remembering to cancel free trials before I get charged.