Your browser just became smarter than your coworker who claims to know everything about productivity apps. Perplexity launched Comet on July 9th, 2025—an AI-powered web browser that transforms every webpage into a conversation with an intelligent assistant. Instead of juggling seventeen tabs while trying to remember what you were researching, Comet’s AI sidebar can summarize content, manage your digital chaos, and even book meetings based on what you’re reading.
The AI Assistant That Actually Assists
Comet’s standout feature isn’t another chatbot—it’s the integrated assistant that understands context from whatever webpage you’re viewing. The AI can summarize lengthy articles, answer questions about specific content, and handle tasks that normally require switching between multiple apps. Think of it as having a research assistant who never gets tired of your random questions.
“Comet transforms entire browsing sessions into single, seamless interactions,” explains Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity’s CEO. “Ask Comet to book a meeting or send an email, based on something you saw. Ask Comet to buy something you forgot. Ask Comet to brief you for your day.”
Beyond Traditional Browsing
Built on Chromium, Comet supports your existing Chrome extensions while adding features that Chrome deliberately avoids. The browser includes robust ad-blocking capabilities and multiple privacy tiers, addressing concerns that Google’s ad business creates inherent conflicts in Chrome’s design, making Perplexity’s AI browser a serious new player in the privacy-focused web space.
Your bookmarks and settings transfer seamlessly from other browsers, but the real shift happens when you start using Perplexity’s AI search as the default engine. Instead of blue links, you get instant AI-generated summaries that cut through information overload faster than you can say “scroll fatigue.”
The $200 Question
Currently available only to Perplexity Max subscribers ($200/month), Comet’s pricing puts it firmly in power-user territory. While that might sound steeper than your Netflix-Spotify-Disney+ bundle combined, Perplexity’s premium AI tier promises broader access through waitlists and eventual free tiers.
The high entry price serves as market validation, testing whether users will pay premium prices for AI-native browsing experiences. Early adopters get first access to features that could reshape how we interact with web content.
Strategic Browser Wars
Comet represents Perplexity’s direct challenge to Google’s search dominance, bypassing traditional search result pages entirely. With Microsoft pushing AI in Edge and rumors of OpenAI developing browser features, the competition for AI-powered browsing is heating up faster than your laptop during a Zoom call.
For now, Comet runs on Windows and Mac, with other platforms planned. The browser’s success will depend on whether its AI assistance proves genuinely useful or becomes another digital assistant you ignore after the novelty wears off.
