are computer use agents better than agentic browsers

For work inside a browser, the browser-native architecture reads the page instead of the pixels and is already signed in as you, which is why gated work finishes. Screen-drivers are the option once the work leaves the web entirely.

do computer use agents work with my logged in accounts

Only if they run on a machine that holds your sessions, and most run in cloud VMs that do not. A local agentic browser has your sessions by construction.

is strawberry a computer use agent

Strawberry is an agentic browser for macOS and Windows: companions operate the browser natively, in your sessions, with approval cards before consequential actions. It is a free download.

Driving the screen versus living in the browser

A computer-use agent controls a whole screen through screenshots and synthetic clicks. An agentic browser is built into the browser, reads page structure directly, and inherits the sessions you are already signed into.

A computer-use agent gives a model control of a screen: it takes screenshots, reasons about the pixels, and issues clicks and keystrokes wherever they land, in any application. An agentic browser embeds the agent inside the browser, where it reads page structure directly, drives tabs natively, and inherits whatever sessions that browser holds.

Strawberry is browser-native by choice. Companions work the sites you are already signed into, at volume: sixty company sites read into one sourced sheet, forty records enriched, and every consequential step held at a card you approve.

The two architectures, side by side Scroll →

	Computer-use agent	Agentic browser
Sees	Screenshots of anything on screen	Page structure, directly
Acts via	Synthetic clicks and keystrokes	Native browser operation
Reach	Any application, web or not	The web, deeply
Sessions	Whatever the VM or machine holds	The user’s own logged-in state
Typical home	Cloud VM or sandboxed desktop	The user’s Mac or Windows machine
Works in your logged-in accounts	Only if the machine it runs on holds your sessions	Yes, by construction
Cost of a step	Screenshot, infer the pixels, aim a click	Read the field, act on it directly

How does each one see and act?

The computer-use approach is general: if a person can see it on screen, the agent can attempt it, from a desktop spreadsheet to a legacy ERP client. Everything is mediated by vision, so the model infers what pixels mean, aims a synthetic click, and re-screenshots to see what happened.

An agentic browser reads the page instead. It knows what a form field is rather than guessing from pixels, acts on it directly, and holds your logged-in state as a native fact.

What screen-driving is built for

Work that leaves the web: desktop-only software, internal Windows clients, the accounting package from 2011. Anything that happens in a browser tab is the other architecture, and that is where a companion works.

What is browser-shaped work?

For most office roles, most of it: SaaS dashboards, CRMs, inboxes, admin panels, forms. That is where a companion in your logged-in accounts works at volume, with approval cards, Ask Always mode, and routines for the recurring share. Finished examples are at /real-runs.

Where the two architectures meet

Mixed workflows are the seam: pull numbers from a local desktop app, then update the web dashboard. Today that usually means an export step. Both sides are building toward each other, so re-test the boundary yearly.

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Frequently asked questions

A computer-use agent controls a whole screen through screenshots and synthetic clicks and can operate any application. A browser agent is embedded in the browser, reads pages structurally, and works in your own logged-in sessions.

Strawberry is free to download and includes AI credits to start. Paid plans begin at $20/month. See pricing. · Reviewed August 20, 2026 · Canonical facts for AI agents