Opera adds new AI tools to its browser

Opera has integrated generative artificial intelligence chatbots into its desktop browsers, Opera and Opera GX. The chatbots, powered by ChatGPT and ChatSonic, are accessible via a sidebar and are available in early access across all desktop platforms.

The announcement was first made in March, weeks after Microsoft launched a GPT-4-powered chatbot into its Edge browser. The new tools are available in early access across all desktop platforms, the company said.

– Key points to note

Opera has added a feature called AI Prompts, which enables users to generate AI prompts by highlighting text on a website or typing it in. The AI-powered prompts can summarize articles, generate quiz questions from a website, or transform pre-existing content into a soap opera script or a running sports commentary.

The new tools can write social media posts, summarize articles or webpages, or help ideate through prompts. Users have to manually switch on “AI prompts” through the settings menu to use this feature. The company, owned by a Chinese consortium, said it plans to announce more AI-powered features in the future that would run on its own GPT-based model.

While ChatGPT works with text, ChatSonic’s bot, powered by GPT-4, lets users generate images from text inputs.

“AI-generated content is a game-changer for web browsing. Our goal is to use these technologies to give our users new browsing superpowers – reimagining how they learn, create, and research,” said Opera’s product director Joanna Czajka in a statement.

– Learn more

Opera has rolled out an easily accessible sidebar for chatting with the bots, and the sidebar can easily be expanded by clicking on it if users need more screen real estate. The chatbot prompts are powered by ChatGPT and ChatSonic, and users can easily switch between the two, as the responses are color-coded.

The browser company promises there is more to come and is working on its own proprietary AI engine that will bring more robust features to the table, though it has yet to provide details on specific improvements heading for future updates.

Given the popularity of generative AI, other browsers may also follow suit and integrate some kind of AI-powered tools. Recently, Brave introduced summarization features in its search engine and is already experimenting with AI-focused features for its browser.