Perplexity has announced the release of Comet browser for all users. The agentic AI browser is now free for everyone.
The search startup had initially launched Comet on July 9 for subscribers.
The announcement is, as you might expect, a glorified ad. It explains why an AI browser is necessary today. It really isn't, but people buy the hype. Dia tried it, and The Browser Company got sold to Atlassian. Earlier this week, Opera Neon browser was launched as a subscription-based agentic browser. Google Chrome has AI powered browsing. Anyway, let's explore Comet.
Note: This is not a review of Comet browser, merely an overview of it based on limited testing of the macOS version, using the default settings. I also tried it briefly on a Windows 10 laptop. The experience is the same on both platforms.
This is Perplexity's Comet browser, it's powered by Chromium.
When you run it for the first time, it plays a video animation with sound effects. That may annoy some people. You can click on the sound icon in the top-right corner to disable the music. And yes, it starts in that compact window on both operating systems. You can only maximize it after setting up the browser.
During the first run, Comet can import data such as your browsing history, settings, bookmarks and passwords from your default browser. It supports all major browsers. To avoid importing the data, click on Do this later in the bottom left corner. Next, you'll need to choose a username and avatar for your account. You can also choose from a light theme, dark theme, or use the eyedropper to pick a color.
Pay attention to the next screen, because all of these options are enabled by default. You can set Comet as your default browser, add it to the dock (macOS), let it run at startup, and help improve the browser (telemetry). I recommend unchecking all of those.
You don't need an account to use the browser, though it really tries to get into your face about it. Comet lets you sign in with your Apple or Google account, or create a new Perplexity account with your email address.
It's good to see that Comet isn't trying to reinvent the wheel like Arc/Dia, it's a normal browser with an interface that is familiar, a Chromium-reskin. There is a Summarize button, a Launch voice mode button (I didn't test it) and an Assistant button next to the address bar. Clicking on Summarize, well you can tell what it does, summarizes the contents of the web page. The Assistant is the chatbot that you can interact with.
New Tab is your search assistant/chatbot screen. It has some widgets, you can click on edit widgets to manage them. The default search experience, via the new tab, assistant, address bar, is Perplexity. But you can change the default search engine from the Settings.
Every new tab in Comet prompts you to sign in, which is very annoying. 10 new tabs, 10 pop-ups. Seriously, this is terrible. I couldn't find a setting for changing the new tab experience. Installing a new tab extension should solve that problem, right? Nope. This gave me an idea for my first query for Perplexity. How do you change the new tab in the browser? It sourced the information from reddit, YouTube, etc., and generated a whole page's length of text, only for it to say, there is no such option.
Comet has a built-in ad blocker, which is enabled by default. It seems to be decent on blogs, Google, etc. But when I tried YouTube, I could see sponsored videos in search results, and ads in videos. Okay, that's not good at all. There seems to be a teaser from Comet about Ad free YouTube. That might be good. But you can download any extension you want from the Chrome Web Store. I tried YouTube again with uBlock Origin Lite installed, and yes, that was much better. Since it is very similar to Chrome, I think we can skip the rest of the tour.
Oh right, I forgot the agentic AI part. Let's give that a try. This is the first time I'm using an AI browser agent. It was surprisingly simple. You just type in what you want it to do, and it does. I asked it to find coupons for a specific website, and it started searching the web, and also applied it to the product in the cart. All on its own, I just sat there watching anxiously. You can pause the automated task at any time.
Here are some screenshots from when I had asked Comet/Perplexity to find the best offer for a smartphone based on some complex requirements, and present the result in a PDF. It came close. I'm pretty basic at testing AI stuff, but then again this is not a review, just an experiment.
Download Comet browser for Windows and macOS from Perplexity's website. The browser isn't available for Linux yet.
Well, there it is, a neutral overview of Comet browser. I'm not a fan of agentic AI due to privacy concerns, which is why I used it without signing in. I got to admit the agentic AI is impressive, it's scary how far the technology has come. It's back to good old Firefox for me, I'll let you play with the AI.
One more thing. While Google's AI and others have been criticized for stealing traffic from publishers, Perplexity says it wants to "champion real journalism" with Comet Plus. It is an optional $5 subscription, which is included in Perplexity Pro Max, that allows users and AI access to popular news websites that produce high-quality content. Basically, it's a partnership with publishers. Its launch partners include CNN, Wired, Ars Technica, Fortune. The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, among other companies. What about the rest of us?
Have you tried Comet? Share your thoughts with us.
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