Opera Browser and Opera GX now give you the benefits of AI for better browsing. The browser has joined the medley that uses Generative AI-based services (Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content) to help you find answers faster. Opera uses ChatGPT, but it has taken a slightly different approach with its interface and the options it wants to offer you. In this first look, you get contextual AI prompts and a sidebar with ChatGPT and ChatSonic shortcuts.

Let's dive in and try it out.

How to Enable AI in Opera

You can get early access to the AI development in Opera (Win, Mac, and Linux) and Opera GX (Win and Mac) by updating your browser or downloading it from the Opera homepage. The AI settings are not enabled by default.

  1. Launch the browser and select the Easy Setup icon on the top right.
  2. Scroll down the sidebar and enable the toggle for AI Prompts (Early Access).
  3. Select Sidebar Setup to open the Opera Sidebar and check if ChatGPT and ChatSonic are enabled by default. Like other third-party apps in the Opera Sidebar, you must sign into them with your usernames and passwords.
Enable AI in Opera

AI Prompts in the address bar and AI prompts in text highlight popup are automatically enabled. However, you can turn them off to customize your Opera experience. For instance, the AI prompts in the text highlight popup can be an annoyance if you don't want to do a lot of AI searches from the right-click menu. Turning off this toggle keeps the menu simpler.

Using ChatGPT and ChatSonic in Opera

Opera uses ChatGPT and ChatSonic at the backend. Opera's integration gives you the best of both worlds, and you can switch quickly with the contextual prompts the browser displays.

While ChatGPT is at the vanguard of AI tools, other alternatives like ChatSonic offer something extra. ChatGPT can't get you the latest information from the web like ChatSonic, which uses Google. Thanks to its training data, it's more powerful than ChatSonic, though the latter might be more customizable with voice inputs and AI image generation.

For instance, you can use ChatGPT to summarize an article and then use ChatSonic to find related content to expand your knowledge.

Note: ChatSonic is a paid service with a few free tokens you can use to try it out. The basic version of ChatGPT is a free research preview, while upgrading to ChatGPT Plus costs $20 monthly.

Let's see how these AI technologies come together in a basic search. First, sign into both AI services from the sidebar or when prompted during a search.

  1. Open a webpage in Opera.
  2. Select AI Prompts on the address bar. As Opera mentions — the AI prompts are contextual depending on the opened webpage.
  3. The CG and CS icons suggest the prompts for ChatGPT and ChatSonic, respectively. Select the prompt as appropriate. For instance, you can quickly understand the main point of a long article (ChatGPT) or ask questions (ChatSonic) to see if you have understood the material.
  4. Browse the article and highlight any text to get more contextual prompts. The prompts can change when you select a word, a sequence of words, or an entire paragraph. You can use this to simplify complex paragraphs or sentences quickly.
  5. To use your own prompts, select the ChatGPT or ChatSonic shortcut in the sidebar to open their panels.

Learn and Create With Generative AI in Opera

Different flavors of AI are becoming part of our browsing habits. These early models aren't perfect yet, and like ChatSonic not free. But they also provide an opportunity for us to get into the habit of learning how prompts work and perfect them. Opera's AI features can help you dive deeper into your online research or be more engaged socially. Remember, these are early days for AI and even for Opera, which says that it's developing its own AI-based browser engine.