Every new browser tries to reinvent the wheel when it doesn't need to be reinvented. Most browsers look the same because they are what people favour the most. Stop trying.

New UIs, service integrations, bundling VPNs and AI assistants, trying to ecosystem some shit no one wants is an example of reinventing the wheel that doesn't need to be. Browsers like Arc and Opera GX are just today's Maxthon Nitro or Comodo Dragon.

Browsers should be universal because the web is universal and everyone uses their own thing. Vivaldi has a ton of cool, optional features for this like an email client (for any service) and feed reader (used universally) and don't bug you to use theirs intrusively. These are FAR MORE important than Brave's AI assistant in my eyes. Edge has some awful features as well despite having leading browser security features at the same time.

Bundling an AI assistant or other services also doesn't make sense when you can just add sidebar page support and add an AI assistant you use as a sidebar (Note: Brave doesn't let you add other pages as a sidebar). I think you could even debloat browsers like Vivaldi and have these things like translators, notes or email clients be something the user sets up as a sidebar web page, instead of having them in the browser at all to be honest. I understand there's a user experience merit though!

Making a browser faster, more productive, more secure and private while making the web far more tolerable should be the way to go about things. Instead of trying to let users be unique, let users be themselves.