Perplexity AI unveiled its new web browser called Comet on July 9, 2025. This isn’t just another browser – it’s designed to change how we use the internet by adding artificial intelligence directly into the browsing experience.
When you use Comet, you get an AI assistant that can see what you’re looking at online and help you with it. Want to understand a YouTube video better? Ask the assistant. Reading a complex article? The assistant can explain it. Comparing products across different websites? The assistant can help with that too.
“We built Comet to let the internet do what it has been begging to do: to amplify our intelligence,” Perplexity explained when announcing the browser. The company wants to transform browsing from simply clicking links to having meaningful conversations with your browser.
Right now, only people who pay for Perplexity’s premium subscription can use Comet. This subscription costs $200 per month, showing that Perplexity is targeting professionals and serious researchers rather than everyday internet users. More people will get access through invitations later this summer.
Google Chrome still dominates the browser market with 68% of all users worldwide according to June 2025 data. Perplexity faces tough competition, especially since other companies like The Browser Company recently launched their own AI browser called Dia.
Tech journalist Maxwell Zeff from TechCrunch tested Comet and found mixed results. The assistant works well for simple tasks like answering questions about webpages, but struggles with complex requests. When Zeff asked it to book airport parking, the assistant got the dates wrong and couldn’t complete the task.
Similar Posts
Privacy is a major concern with Comet. To use all its features, you must give the browser access to your emails, contacts, and calendar. Perplexity says it stores your data locally and doesn’t use personal information to train its AI, but users must decide if the convenience is worth sharing so much private information.
The browser is built on Chromium, the same technology behind Google Chrome. This means your Chrome extensions, bookmarks, and settings will work with Comet, making it easier to switch if you want to try it.
Perplexity has powerful financial backing from investors including Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and SoftBank. The company is growing fast, handling 780 million search queries in May 2025 and increasing its usage by over 20% each month.
Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity’s CEO, describes Comet as a “cognitive operating system” and “second brain” that helps users work more efficiently online.
The browser war is heating up, with OpenAI reportedly planning to release its own AI browser soon. As browsers evolve from simple tools for viewing websites into intelligent assistants that understand what we’re doing online, Comet represents an important step in this new direction.
Will people embrace this new way of browsing? That remains to be seen, especially considering the privacy trade-offs and current limitations of AI technology. But one thing is clear: the way we browse the web is changing dramatically.
