Opera launches its AI-centric Neon browser (techcrunch.com)

Opera has launched Neon, an AI-centric browser now moving out of closed preview and into a limited invite-only rollout at $19.99/month. Neon blends a conversational chatbot with a more agentic assistant called Neon Do that automates multi-step tasks (e.g., summarizing a Substack and posting to Slack) by leveraging browsing context and history. Users can also build repeatable, composable prompts via “cards” — effectively an IFTTT-style prompt builder — and stitch cards like “pull-details” and “comparison-table” into mini-apps. Neon also writes code snippets to generate visual reports (tables/charts) and introduces Tasks, workspace-like tab groups that contain related AI chats and tabs. Technically, Neon signals a push toward agentic, context-aware browsers that unify browsing state, history, and automation primitives at the client level, enabling repeatable workflows and cross-tab actions. That positions Opera against Perplexity’s Comet, The Browser Company’s Dia (Skills), and browser features from Google and Microsoft, but Opera is targeting power users with a subscription model. Key unknowns include real-world robustness (demos can overpromise), whether mini-apps are shareable, and the privacy/security implications of deeper browser-level access to user data. If Neon proves reliable, it could accelerate commoditization of agentic browser features and modular prompt architectures.