Shove over, Comet. Opera, one of the semi-popular alternatives to Google Chrome’s and Apple Safari’s browser dominance and a competitor to Mozilla Firefox, has unleashed a new browser that incorporates AI right into its core functions. They’re calling it Opera Neon.
Neon is swell name for a browser. It conjures up vibes of energy and spectacle. Paired with the Opera name, though, it feels off. “Opera” and “neon” are two words that have never sat side by side in my brain until now. Oh, well. I’m nitpicking.
under the neon hood
Rather than having to navigate to an AI website by punching the address into the URL bar, an AI-centric browser lets you ask it questions and make demands at any time and with any tab open. It can reference your open tabs to complete tasks, even across multiple websites on your behalf.
Whereas its plain as day which generative AI Perplexity Comet uses—it uses Perplexity, duh—it’s less clear which AI models Opera’s Neon uses.
As I talk about a bit here, Perplexity’s differs from OpenAI ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and xAI Grok instead of being tied to its own model exclusively, Perplexity can use models from all of these generative AIs, including its own.
Will Opera Neon function as well as these AI front-runners? I’m skeptical, if only because creating a competitive generative AI takes huge amounts of money and resources.
When Samsung began phasing out Bixby, its Apple Siri-like voice assistant, it chose to strike a deal with Google to begin incorporating Gemini into its devices, rather than create its own generative AI. Even Apple is reportedly leaning on Google in its efforts to not fall behind in the AI race.
Unlike Perplexity Comet, Neon will cost you $20 per month. That’s a steep price for a browser technology that, while I believe it’s the future, is still new and novel to most people. This early into its lifecycle, AI-centric browsers need public buy-in if they have any real hope of unseating Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge.
Want to try gaining early access to Neon, nonetheless? Make your mark right here.
The post Neon at the Opera: There’s a New AI Web Browser in Town appeared first on VICE.
