Opera’s web browsers, including its Opera GX, may soon be next to receive the ChatGPT upgrade if its parent firm has anything to say about it.
According to CNBC (opens in new tab) and reported on by Neowin (opens in new tab), Opera’s parent company Kunlun Tech plans on integrating the hugely popular OpenAI program ChatGPT into its own products. So far there have been no confirmations on which products those would be, or whether that includes its Opera and Opera GX web browsers.
This announcement comes on the heels of Microsoft and Google revealing their own ChatGPT-like products, with the former integrating it into both Bing and Edge while the latter’s Bard AI will be attached to Google Search. And it’s been revealed that both the Chinese search engine Baidu (opens in new tab) and Chinese firm Alibaba (opens in new tab) are set to release their own ChatGBT clones.
Why use ChatGPT?
As ChatGPT grows in popularity, tech giants have been rushing to get their own versions of the OpenAI program out the door, whether as completely separate programs or attached to existing services.
According to the latest data from Statcounter (opens in new tab), Opera’s current market share in the desktop browser market is 3.41%, the lowest of the major browsers. Integrating its browsers with its own version of ChatGBT could most certainly bump up that percentage, especially if it offers a higher quality experience than its competitors.
Of course, this is pure speculation as we don’t know which of Kunlun Tech’s products will be getting the AI program treatment, but considering how many browsers have already rolled out similar ones, it makes the most sense for Opera to be next in line.
There’s a risk to investing in such new technology, as we’ve seen how much damage bad actors can cause with it. Not to mention plagiarism, dangerous misinformation spreading, and other major issues because of it. Still, it’s already energized the nearly terminal Microsoft Bing search engine, so it’s likely to help give Opera a shot in the arm as well.
