Sometimes you need an answer. Sometimes you need it done.

Two modes, one clear choice

A useful browser assistant should make its role clear. Are you asking for advice, or asking it to change something? WebAct uses two modes to keep that distinction visible.

Chat helps you understand, write, and think. Task performs a browser workflow and checks the result. Both use the context you choose, but only Task mode performs WebAct actions.

You can start with a conversation and switch when you are ready. Asking for a draft does not need to become an automation, and a question about a page does not need to consume your monthly task allowance.

Use Chat to understand and prepare

Chat is a good fit for a page summary, an explanation of an unfamiliar section, a rewrite, or a draft reply. You are getting text you can review and decide how to use.

• “Explain this section in plain language.”
• “Summarize the visible notes into three takeaways.”
• “Draft a friendly response that asks for a timeline.”

Choose a specific region when the rest of the page is irrelevant. Giving the assistant less, more relevant context can make the response easier to assess.

Browser chat stays free in WebAct. You use your selected browser provider’s session, and that provider’s own availability and limits still apply. Free chat does not mean unlimited capacity from the provider.

Use Task for an outcome on the page

Task mode is for work with a concrete result: extract a table, fill a field, or complete a repeated browser process. A good instruction states the scope, desired output, and how to tell when it is done.

For example: “Extract the visible table into CSV with name, company, and role columns. Check that all three visible rows are included.” This is easier to verify than “get the data.”

WebAct requests approval for sensitive actions and checks completion against the available page state. Review the final result, especially if another application will use it. If the result is uncertain, treat that uncertainty as something to resolve, rather than assuming success.

How the free allowance works

The Free plan includes 25 automation tasks per UTC calendar month. A task counts when it starts its first action. The agent’s intermediate steps, retries, recovery, and necessary clarifications remain part of that same task.

A fresh automation is a new task. A conversation that stays in browser Chat mode does not use the task allowance. Pro and Business remove WebAct’s browser-task cap, while provider limits continue to apply.

Managed AI is separate: it requires a paid WebAct subscription and has metered usage billed separately. The free browser-chat policy does not create a free API tier.