This week, the AI browser competition escalated when Opera launched the newest AI-driven browser, Neon, which is meant to complete tasks and perform workflow automation directly via web pages. The new product of the Norwegian technology company adds to an expanding category of competitors aiming to turn web browsing into active productivity support (instead of an extension of passive search).
The emergence of an Agentic Web Browsing Technology
The Neon browser introduced by Opera is the most recent addition to what industry analysts refer to as agentic web browsing, or, in other words, software that does the behaviour of users, and not just presenting search results. This transformation is a radical change in the way browsers operate, and is not an information retrieval process, but rather an autonomous process of task execution.
There has been a lot of activity in the agentic browsing space in the recent past. In 2025, Perplexity AI published its Comet browser and The Browser Company published Dia as a follow-up to its Arc browser. As Reuters reports, OpenAI is about to launch a Chromium-based AI web browser, which could include its so-called Operator agent, allowing users to look and shop within it without needing to leave a native chat interface.
Opera Neon Characteristics and features
The Neon browser of Opera brings with it a few unique features which focus on local AI processing. The Neon Do functionality allows the software to browse web pages on behalf of users, and all operations are performed on the device instead of channeling the information to the external cloud providers. This solution solves the rising privacy issues and still functions.
The browser is able to autofill online forms, compare information against data on several websites at once, and even write code directly in the browser. Opera has created Neon to provide its users with some level of control over AI behavior, and pause or restart automated work at any point.
Two other characteristics improve productivity workflows: In the case of "Tasks" isolated workspaces are created in which AI can process the information obtained in different sources, and in the case of Cards, reusable templates of prompts are presented, which automate repetitive operations. These applications make Neon potentially a complete productivity system and not a traditional web browser.
Target Market and Business Strategy
Neon is being sold as a high-end subscription product by Opera to power users, who need sophisticated automation and multiple tasking features. The company opened early access on Tuesday, and it will have widespread access in the next several months. This subscription format is a change in Opera as opposed to the old traditional ad-supported browsing service.
The strategic time of the company seems to be calculated. Through the stable earnings growth and interest in AI-powered products among investors, the U.S.-traded shares of Opera have recorded impressive growth in the last three years. Opera was established in 1995 and it has its base in Oslo where it has over 300 million active users of its desktop and mobile browsers.
Extranet Privacy-First Design to meet European Compliance
Opera has highlighted the privacy-first design of Neon, which means that all AI processes are either done locally on users’ computers. This on-board processing model may become especially appealing to the European audience, whose regulatory attention on data collection and use remains high under such regulations as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Opera hopes to make Neon stand out against competitors by keeping data processing in-house, instead of being hosted off-site, and by resolving regulatory issues that have plagued other technology firms with business in European nations. The privacy-driven strategy can also offer competitive edges because data security laws are growing across the world.
The Competitive Landscape
The browser market is undergoing the greatest change in a long time since the introduction of tabbed browsing. The tech companies are aware that the development of AI-driven browsers that have the ability to carry out functions independently will transform the consumer experience with the internet, and may threaten the traditional search and e-commerce paradigms.
Competition is stiff in Opera. The expected launch of browser by OpenAI has a potential to capitalize on the user base of ChatGPT and advanced language models used by the company. As an answer engine, Perplexity AI has positioned the Comet browser as the solution that removes the common search steps. The Dia offered by the Browser Company aims at the consumers who prefer to use AI in a smooth way as part of the browsing process.
Web Browsing Implications to the Future
The advent of agency browsers such as Opera Neon is the beginning of a new web interaction paradigm. Instead of users actively searching, clicking, and navigating, AI-powered browsers are hoped to work on the lower-level tasks automatically, and leave higher-level decision-making and creative work to the users.
Nevertheless, concerns exist regarding rates of adoption, user confidence in autonomous activities by AI, and the business model upon which such high-technology platforms will be supported. The second wave of the browser wars will involve finding out, as Opera Neon and rivals start reaching the market, whether users trust AI agents that will act on their behalf or whether they still want to keep direct control over their web experiences.
