Opera is testing a new ChatGPT-powered “shorten” feature in its browser's sidebar that generates bulleted summaries of the webpage or article being viewed
The feature, called “shorten,” is part of the company's broader plans to integrate AI tools into its browser, similar to what Microsoft's doing with Edge.
The VergeEmma Roth
Context & Ripple Effects
Opera had previously used experimental browser releases such as Opera Neon to signal its view of where web browsing was heading. Its later Opera One redesign was explicitly built around a modular interface for generative-AI features, making the sidebar test an early product-level step in that direction.
The competitive frame widened as Arc added page-level AI tools, including previews and on-page questions, while OpenAI was later reported to be planning a browser that retains some interactions in a native ChatGPT-like interface. The relevant contest is increasingly over whether a browser is merely a page viewer or the layer that interprets pages for users.
First-order effects
Opera users in the test can turn the page already open in their browser into a sidebar summary, reducing the work needed to extract its main points.
Opera gains an AI feature in the same browser-integration race it identified with MicrosoftEdge, shifting its sidebar from navigation space toward an assistant surface.
Publishers retain the initial page visit in Opera's design, but the browser increasingly mediates how much of an article a reader needs to process directly.
Third-order effects
If browsers continue to summarize and answer from the current page, browsing shifts toward an assistant-mediated work surface rather than a sequence of full-page reads.
The trend: Browsers are evolving into AI work surfaces that summarize, interpret, and increasingly act on web content from within the browsing session.
Generative AI services are giving people new superpowers! We are announcing the first plans for upcoming integrations in our browsers, such as a webpage shorten feature as a sidebar integration. Here are our plans: https://blogs.opera.com/... https://twitter.com/...
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