Opera revolutionizes browsing with local LLMs: goodbye Internet addiction

Opera today announced a new feature that allows users to download and use large language templates directly on their computers. This feature was initially introduced for Opera One users who receive updates from the developer stream. Now it will be possible to select from over 150 templates from more than 50 different families, including Meta’s Llama, Google’s Gemma and Vicuna.

The benefits of using LLMs locally

Using LLMs locally offers several advantages to users. First, it allows access to a wide selection of third-party models directly in the browser, without the need to use online tools. In addition, models downloaded locally can also be tested and used offline, allowing users to work more efficiently and without depending on a stable Internet connection.

According to Jan Standal, VP of Opera, “Opera offers for the first time access to a large selection of third-party LLMs directly in the browser. It is expected that the size of the templates will shrink as they become more and more specialized for specific tasks.”

How downloading and using LLMs works in Opera

To download and use LLMs in Opera, users must be subscribed to the Opera AI Feature Drops program, which gives them preview access to some of the new artificial intelligence-based features. Currently, Opera uses the open source Ollama framework to run language models on the user’s computer.

The models available are a selection from Ollama’s library, but the company has announced that models from different sources will be included in the future. It is important to note that each variant of the templates takes up more than 2GB of space on the local disk, so it is advisable to check the available space to avoid running out of storage space.

Other options for using language templates.

If you want to save local disk space, there are also other options for using online language templates. For example, several online tools such as Quora’s Poe and HuggingChat are available that allow you to explore different language models without having to download them to your computer.

Opera’s other artificial intelligence-based features.

Opera began experimenting withartificial intelligence-based features as early as last year. In May, the company launched an assistant called Aria in the sidebar of the browser and introduced it in the iOS version in August. In January, Opera announced that it was working on an artificial intelligence-based browser with its own engine for iOS, in response to Apple’s EU’s Digital Market Acts (DMA) requests to remove the WebKit engine requirement for mobile browsers.