Perplexity has unveiled its inaugural AI-driven web browser, named Comet, in a bold move to rival Google Search as the go-to platform for accessing information on the internet. This launch represents the company’s newest push to reshape how users explore the web.
Comet steps into a highly competitive browser space currently led by giants like Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari. In June, The Browser Company introduced Dia, an AI-enhanced browser that delivers many of the same capabilities as Comet. Meanwhile, OpenAI has also signaled its ambition to develop a browser of its own, positioning itself as another potential challenger to Google’s dominance.
Comet is built on Chromium, the open-source framework that also powers Google Chrome. This foundation enables the browser to run Chrome extensions and lets users import their existing bookmarks with ease. One of the key advantages of using Chromium is its broad website compatibility, which helps prevent many common performance or rendering problems.
Comet ships with Perplexity’s AI-powered search engine built-in and set as the default, highlighting the startup’s signature feature—concise, AI-generated overviews of search queries.
Additionally, the browser introduces Comet Assistant, a newly developed AI companion designed to streamline everyday activities. It can handle tasks such as condensing emails and calendar entries, organizing open tabs, and assisting users in browsing and interacting with websites.
Perplexity in a blog post said, “We believe curiosity is a superpower. It’s the spark that propels humanity forward. Yet, the web—our greatest source of information—was never designed to nurture curiosity; instead, we’ve been asked to “browse” it through a one-way lens. That’s why we made Comet.”
