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Like almost every tech company on the planet, Opera dove into the AI trend some time ago. And although AI is a divisive subject, if the tech giants have their way, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
While there are certain avenues that I believe AI should be closed to (such as art, literature, journalism, and politics), there are some places where it has obvious benefits (such as the medical industry, science, technology, and math).
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And I’m not going to lie: I’ve not used AI much more than to peek my head in to see what was what. But the other day I got curious. I wanted to compare what it would be like to research something with Google versus with an AI chatbot. The results actually surprised me (and should probably unnerve Google a bit).
For those who opt to use Opera as your default browser (and you should, it’s amazing), there’s a simple-to-use AI chatbot built-in with real-time access to the web, called Aria.
Turns out, opting for Aria (over Google) makes it easier to sift through the garbage to get right at what you’re looking for. Instead of having to jettison old, outdated content and content from suspect sites, you simply get your answer. No clicking through different articles to find what you’re looking for. No worries you’re going to land on a site with malicious code.
It’s just simple.
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Of course, there’s a caveat to this. Is the answer correct?
I did a few tests and found the answers to be mostly right. However, there were a few instances where Aria botched the answer. One instance involved configuring a static IP in Linux with netplan.
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Aria answered the question correctly, except it used the deprecated method of configuring a gateway address. Had I followed the steps Aria gave me, the configuration would have failed.
That being said, what I found was that using Aria as a search tool is pretty efficient.
Let me show you how to enable and use it, so you can empower your searches.
How to enable Aria on Opera
What you’ll need: You’ll need two things for this: An updated version of Opera installed on your desktop and a free Opera account. Make sure to create an account and log into it from your Opera browser.
With those things at the ready, it’s time to enable Aria.
The first thing to do is open Opera. Once the browser is open, type opera:settings in the address bar to open the Settings window.
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Scroll to the bottom of the settings window and click Advanced. Then, scroll down until you see the AI Services section. Click the On/Off slider to enable Aria in the sidebar. Once you’ve done that, you can close out the Settings window.
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–> You can also enable AI in the text highlight popup, in case you come across a term or phrase you want to use as a prompt for Aria. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
