Over the past couple of years, it feels like every browser suddenly decided it needed an AI assistant. You open a new tab and there’s a chatbot somewhere in the sidebar. Search for something and you get an AI-generated summary by default. Even the browsers that used to focus on speed or privacy are now adding AI panels and tools on top of everything else.

None of this is necessarily a bad thing; we’re in the era of AI now, and I love testing out new AI tools or finding ways to adapt them to my workflow. Many browsers also give you the option to opt out of its AI features, so it’s not like we’re in a total AI takeover. But I still like a browser with enhanced privacy, such as Brave with its ad blockers.

Vivaldi was recommended to me due to its similar philosophy on user privacy, so I was happy to give it a shot. But the thing that stood out to me more was that there’s no AI built into the browser, which did feel a little strange at first given I’m so used to it now, but it was also oddly refreshing…

What is Vivaldi browser?

And my first impressions

Vivaldi is a Chromium-based browser developed by Vivaldi Technologies, the company founded by former Opera CEO, Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner. So it uses the same underlying engine that powers browsers like Chrome, Brave, and Edge, and most Chrome extensions work without extra setup, which makes switching over easy.

What makes Vivaldi different is how much control it gives you over the browser itself. One of the first things I was greeted with was the settings menu, and it lets you customize absolutely every aspect of the browsing experience and interface. It’s seriously some of the best UI/UX design I’ve seen in an app; even the configurations don’t feel overwhelming despite being plentiful. Keyboard shortcuts, command menus, mouse gestures, and much, much more can all be tweaked to match the way you browse. The Downloads menu alone gives me more than twice the configurations I have in Brave or Chrome.

Of course, one of the biggest selling points is that there’s no AI built into the browser. I will say, it’s a bit strange that “no AI” has become something worth highlighting, when just two years ago, “our product has AI” was the selling point. Moreover, Vivaldi has several extra productivity features that I’ve never seen in a browser, which made it all that more exciting to jump into.

Using a browser without AI

I forgot what that even looked like

I’m right in the middle of the AI era just like everyone else, and people’s views on it seem pretty polarized. I’m not anti-AI, but I do think we have a long ways to go in terms of regulation and responsible use. So I’ve been more than happy to use my AI-powered browsers like Brave’s Leo, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity, as long as I command the tools and don’t let them think for me.

Switching over to Vivaldi, especially once I learned it has no AI, felt intimidating at first, because it’s something I’d gotten so used to already. There’s no built-in chatbot, summarizer, AI sidebar, omnibox integration, right-click AI actions, or AI-generated content. All of this is intentional because the company’s philosophy highlights curiosity and web diversity over passive consumption. And I can honestly get behind that.

The thing is, you can still get AI in Vivaldi by selecting an AI-powered search engine like Google-Gemini or Duck.ai. Vivaldi just doesn’t integrate the AI into the browser UI, so it doesn’t enhance, promote, or interact with these features. Some search engines, like DuckDuckGo let you turn off the AI summaries, too. This means AI usage is completely controlled by you in the browser.

In practice, this looks like more privacy, first and foremost, because there’s no background data collection for AI models. Customization without AI suggestions also creates a more personal browsing experience, and there’s no forced automation, keeping you in control of functions like form-filling. But most importantly, it encourages active exploration with a list of organic links in a traditional SERP-like layout. It made me realize just how much I was relying on AI summaries and chatbots, because it’s been a while since I’ve scrolled and actually clicked through all the links.

The extras

Vivaldi is a mini productivity tool

I don’t recall ever using a browser that has a built-in note-taking feature, so I absolutely love that Vivaldi has one. It has Markdown formatting, link embedding, you can export notes to an external note-taking tool, and you can organize your notes into folders. This is ideal for someone like me who lives in their browser and constantly switches between tabs and note-takers. Moreover, it has a built-in translator tool that supports over 100 languages, so I don’t have to rely on AI-powered translator tools. And you can add more widgets like calendar, tasks, and mail.

Vivaldi completely surprised me

I didn’t expect much going into Vivaldi, especially after learning it doesn’t have AI. However, browsing without AI isn’t really a bad thing; it took me back to the “old days” of scrolling and scrolling on Google, and actually reading all the materials from the links you opened. But I can still use AI if I want to in the search engines, it’s completely my choice. Plus, I can take notes right in the browser, my user experience is highly customizable, and all my data remains private.