Perplexity's Comet AI Browser Goes Free, Challenging Chrome's Dominance

Perplexity's Comet AI browser now free; Max users get new 'background assistant' | TechCrunch

AI search startup Perplexity is making its new Comet browser available to everyone in the world for free as it works to position the product against big browsers and search engines. For certain paid subscribers, the startup has also launched a new "background assistant" to handle multiple tasks via Comet. Perplexity first launched Comet to subscribers of its $200-per-month Max plan three months ago, and since then, "millions" have signed up on the waitlist to download the browser. Comet's main feature is a sidecar assistant that joins you while you browse, helping to answer any questions you may have about the web page you're on, summarize content, manage web content, and navigate web pages on your behalf. Perplexity's move to make Comet free comes as the startup fights to compete against both incumbents like Google Chrome and newcomers like The Browser Company's AI-powered browser Dia. It also comes ahead of OpenAI's much-anticipated AI-powered browser launch. In the face of such competition, Perplexity will need to prove that Comet's agentic capabilities work reliably. Because without tangible productivity gains, people might be less inclined to switch from their existing browsers. For free users, Perplexity's Comet browser experience is still limited to the sidecar assistant. All users can also access different tools like Discover (personalized news and content recommendations similar to OpenAI's new Pulse); Spaces (to organize and manage different projects); Shopping (assists in comparing prices and finding deals across online retailers); Travel (offers aggregated information on travel destinations, flights, accommodation, etc); Finance (tools for budgeting, tracking expenses, monitoring investments); and Sports (updates on scores, schedules, and news). Max users get access to high-performing AI models and can access Perplexity's email assistant, which promises to draft replies and write responses that match your tone; organize and prioritize your inbox; schedule meetings; and answer questions about your inbox. Max users also get early access to Perplexity products and features, including a new "background assistant" that CEO Aravind Srinivas announced at an event Wednesday evening. A company spokesperson described the assistant as "a team of assistants working for you" that you can manage and track from a central dashboard like a "mission control." The assistant performs multiple tasks on your computer in the background while you do other work or walk away to make a sandwich. In an example a spokesperson gave me, you could give the assistant a task to send an email, add the cheapest tickets to a concert to your cart, and find the best direct flight on a specific date and time. You can check the progress of the task completion in the dashboard and jump in to complete the tasks - like hitting send on the email, intervening, or taking over. The assistant will notify you when it has finished its task. The background assistant also has "better connectors," so it can access other apps on your computer, per the spokesperson. TechCrunch asked for more specifics about use cases and where the background assistant thrives. Free Comet users can also purchase a $5-per-month standalone subscription to Comet Plus, a forthcoming product that aims to provide an AI-enhanced alternative to Apple News. Pro users (who pay $20-per-month for advanced AI models, image and video generation, file upload and analysis, etc.) and Max users will get access to Comet Plus automatically.

Perplexity's Comet AI Web Browser Is Now Available to Everyone

Imad is a senior reporter covering Google and internet culture. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with The New York Times, The Washington Post, ESPN, Tom's Guide and Wired, among others. Comet, an AI-powered web browser built to take on Google Chrome, is now available for free, the AI search company Perplexity said in a press release on Thursday. The browser was previously limited to subscribers to Perplexity Max and Pro. Comet no longer requires a subscription. Unlike a traditional web browser, Comet has an AI assistant built-in. It can be called at any point to answer questions about the page being looked at and can use its agent to click on the page and accomplish tasks for the user. Perplexity said Comet users were asking more questions than they had asked the company's search tool before, with queries that didn't resemble traditional online searches. At a private event in San Francisco, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas also previewed Comet for mobile, showing off its agentic capabilities, which can accomplish tasks on behalf of the user. He further detailed new types of AI assistants, publishers participating in Comet Plus and a new research laboratory. Comet's worldwide release comes as AI players are make moves in the web browser space. Previously, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic had released extensions for Chrome, giving people faster access to ChatGPT Search and Claude. But these were additions to existing browsers. Now, Perplexity is running to beat Google's Chrome. Microsoft was also early in this race, releasing Copilot Mode in Edge earlier this year. Google recently released Gemini in Chrome for AI Pro subscribers, which also brings much of the same functionality of Comet to the world's most popular web browser. Currently, Chrome dominates the web browser space with 72% global market share. Google's dominance in Chrome allows the company to gather valuable user data, which it then uses to beef up Google Search and better sell placement to advertisers. Google's dominance in Search was so vast that a federal court ruled the company to be operating an illegal monopoly. The Department of Justice wanted Chrome to be sold off as a potential remedy, but a US District Judge opted for other remedies instead. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Everyone can use Perplexity's Comet AI browser now - for free

Comet is now available globally for free.It debuted in July for $200-per-month.It's part of a broader industry effort to AI-ify browsers. Perplexity announced Thursday that its AI-powered web browser, Comet, is now available everywhere for free. Launched in July through the company's $200-per-month Perplexity Max service, the browser comes with a built-in AI agent that can track users' browsing activity and interact with third-party websites and apps. Perplexity has marketed its new browser as a more intuitive, dynamic, and engaging alternative to traditional browsers like Chrome and Safari, which the company has painted as antiquated, one-way portals to the internet -- though Gemini is now integrated directly with Chrome. Also: Perplexity's Comet AI browser could expose your data to attackers - here's how Comet is positioned as an AI companion that gently tugs on people's innate inquisitiveness as they navigate the web, leading them to discover new and unexpected information. "Comet is a browser that learns with the user and enables them to go deeper where it matters most," a Perplexity spokesperson told ZDNET. "Over time, it becomes a second brain, powering discovery, curiosity, and action." Millions of people have signed up to access Comet since its July debut, according to the spokesperson. All Perplexity free, Pro, and Plus users can try it starting today by downloading it here. Google Chrome and Apple-owned Safari have long been the world's most popular web browsers by a significant margin, but Perplexity has been pushing aggressively to attract users to Comet and, by extension, to its broader vision of a paradigm shift in the very nature of browsing. Last month, for example, the company offered a free trial of Comet to students, as well as a free year for PayPal and Venmo users. Also: 5 reasons I use local AI on my desktop - instead of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude In an op-ed published last month in Arena, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srivinas argued that the rise of AI was ushering in a new era for humanity, "the Question Age," in which the barriers to pursuing one's curiosity and thus gaining a deeper collective understanding of the universe would be lower than ever before in history. "In an age where AI holds nearly limitless information," he writes, "the people who thrive will be those who never run out of questions. The great industrialists, the leading capitalists, the winners of this new era will all be the most curious." Other tech developers have also been investing in AI-powered web browsers, driven by the idea that people in the future will prefer to interact with agents to help them find information online, as opposed to being left to their own devices. Also: Do you get your news from AI? Who is - and isn't, according to Pew Research Software giant Atlassian, for example, recently purchased The Browser Company for a reported value of $610 million and with the goal of giving a major AI upgrade to the Dia browser, specifically with an eye toward selling the new browser to knowledge workers. Google, meanwhile, has begun rolling out Gemini in Chrome -- the company's flagship generative AI chatbot can respond to user questions about open webpages and perform tasks that require pulling information from across multiple tabs.

Perplexity's Comet browser is available everywhere

After launching to subscribers willing to fork out hundreds of dollars a month this summer, Perplexity's agentic AI browser Comet is now available to everyone for free. "The internet is better on Comet," the company says, promising to remain free forever as it styles the browser as a serious challenger to Google's Chrome. Comet puts AI at the heart of the browsing experience. It incorporates Perplexity's AI search tools and a personal AI assistant that, in the company's words, actually "travels the web with" users, instead of being "tacked onto a traditional browser." It's supposed to make surfing the web simpler and help you with tasks like shopping, booking trips, and general life admin. To borrow the company's words again: you "get more done." The AI-powered browser launched in July, though was only available for users who subscribed to the $200 per month Perplexity Max plan. Later, Perplexity expanded this to include "select" subscribers of its cheaper Pro plan and lucky invitees on what the company says is now a millions-strong waitlist. No subscription at all will be needed to use Comet going forward, the company says. As well as its browser, Perplexity is making its Comet Plus content available for free too. The program, which launched in August as a standalone $5-a-month subscription, gives users access to curated news content in a scheme CEO Aravind Srinivas likened to Apple's Apple News+. Perplexity is not alone in its quest to bring AI to the internet. Google has infused Gemini into Chrome, The Browser Company -- the makers of the Arc browser -- is going all in on Dia, and Opera just launched its own AI browser, Neon.

Perplexity's Comet AI Browser Now Free for All, Mobile App Coming Soon

With over a decade of experience reporting on consumer technology, James covers mobile phones, apps, operating systems, wearables, AI, and more. Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google. Perplexity was one of the first companies to launch an AI-powered internet browser, but it has been difficult to gain access to the tool without spending $200 per a month for the brand's top-end Max subscription. Now, that's changing, and Comet is available for everyone. Surprisingly, Perplexity is also offering Comet for free in an attempt to tease you over from other popular browsers. Perplexity says Comet has had millions of interested people sign up for its waiting list It said, "It has become the most sought-after AI product of the year, no matter how fast we release invites." Comet works by combining the company's search-focused personal AI assistant and more traditional web browsing features all together in one tool. You can now download the app to your desktop from Perplexity's website. It's not yet available on Apple's App Store for Mac or the Microsoft Store for Windows products. The brand has also confirmed it plans to launch a mobile app "soon." Although Perplexity has yet to confirm a release date, it says it will make Comet "available on any device, with a personal AI designed for your phone." That suggests both an iPhone and Android version will be launching at a similar time. Perplexity has also been acting fast on its Comet momentum over the last few months, so it may even mean a mobile version will be ready before the end of the year. We'll have to wait to hear directly from Perplexity to know for sure. Other AI upgrades include Background Assistants. Perplexity says, "Background Assistants work for you simultaneously and asynchronously, so you can focus on what matters. In the background, your personal team of AI assistants eliminates any task on your to-do list. Background Assistants are a platform where your curiosity becomes productivity." That tool comes soon after it launched its new Email Assistant, which is only available for its Max subscribers who pay $200 per month or $2,000 a year. It's an AI feature that you can carbon copy on threads to automatically complete tasks like setting up meetings, researching topics, or drafting replies to emails. The brand is also bringing curated news content to its Comet Plus users. If you have Perplexity Pro or Max subscription, you'll get access to a service which it has said will work in a similar way to Apple News Plus. If you don't have a Perplexity subscription, accessing this new content will cost $5 per month. The first list of publishing partners includes CNN, Conde Nast, Fortune, Le Figaro, Le Monde, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. Perplexity has spent 2025 reportedly bidding to buy rival tools like Brave and DuckDuckGo. It also offered Google $34.5 billion to buy Chrome, although that was likely a publicity stunt.

3 reasons why Perplexity's Comet has become my go-to browser

There's no shortage of browsers nowadays, and a new one seems to pop up every few days. And though some of the browsers that launch quietly fade away and are eventually forgotten, every so often one comes along that manages to take over the internet. Before you know it, it feels like everyone's talking about it. I'm the kind of person who always wants to quickly download and go hands-on with any software (or hardware) I come across that's even remotely interesting, and browsers are no exception. Lately, the trend has been AI-first browsers, and Opera's Neon was the first one I tried that actually delivered on that vision. Realizing how much having AI within browsers could actually change the way I worked made me start paying closer attention to this trend. Perplexity's Comet was one browser I kept hearing about everywhere, and since it was developed by one of my favorite AI companies, I knew I had to give it a shot. Though I was disappointed when I first tried it and actually ended up preferring Edge's Copilot mode, I decided to give Comet another try a little later. When I did, it became clear why so many people rave about it, and it ended up becoming my go-to browser for a couple of reasons. It's a Perplexity-first browser through and through Perplexity, always within reach As I mentioned above, Perplexity is one of my favorite AI tools out there, and that's one of the main reasons I was so curious to try out Comet in the first place, and why it has become my go-to browser. No matter what browser I'm using, I find myself heading to Perplexity at least a dozen times a day. With Comet, that entire experience feels built in rather than added on. Since Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine at its core, Comet's default search engine is Perplexity. With any browser, when you type a query into the address bar, you get a response from whatever default search engine the browser uses. In Comet, that response comes straight from Perplexity, giving you AI-powered results instantly without needing to navigate to a separate site. Frankly, this annoyed me at first, as I felt like not every query needed an AI answer. The point still stands, but once you've been using Comet for a while, you get used to it. All you need to do to search on Google instead of Perplexity is hit the downwards arrow on your keyboard and choose the "Search Google" option instead of "Ask Perplexity." Instead of needing to open a new Perplexity tab every time I want to use the tool, I can simply type the query directly into Comet's address bar and get the AI-powered response instantly. I personally think that searching queries you would normally run on Google through Perplexity also gives you much more accurate and context-aware answers. The only issue is that it takes a tad bit longer for certain queries. For instance, in one of my previous articles, I mentioned an example involving time conversions between time zones. I work Eastern Standard Time hours, but live nine hours ahead. When I type [time] EST to PKT in Google (or even just [time EST]), I instantly get the converted time in a box at the very top. I've been using Comet for a few weeks now, and I've gotten used to clicking the downwards arrow to make a Google search when I need to. I tend to default to Perplexity now, so it's become my go-to for most queries. Comet's AI assistant is a game-changer It's helped me save hours of mindless clicking If there's an AI tool that can automate some of the repetitive tasks I do every day, and it comes baked right into my browser (which is the software I obviously use the most), that's enough reason for me to stick with it. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Comet's best feature is, hands down, its AI Assistant. Now, I'm not talking about tasks like summarizing an article you're reading or a YouTube video you're watching. Sure, that's impressive, but there are already plenty of tools that can do that. What I'm talking about is the agentic aspect -- things get exciting when the AI actually begins to take initiative and perform tasks for you rather than just responding to prompts. For instance, when I wake up every morning, I use Huxe's Daily Audio Briefing feature to catch up on emails I missed while I was asleep and to see what I have on my calendar ahead. If you aren't familiar with Huxe, it's an app developed by NotebookLM's founders, and it's available on both the App Store and Play Store. Once I have an idea of what emails I received overnight, I often want to quickly respond to them or open a particular one in a separate tab. Instead of going through my overflowing inbox first thing in the morning, I can simply open the AI assistant by hitting Alt + A on my keyboard and describe the email I'd like to open in natural language, then continue doing something else while the assistant opens it up within seconds. Similarly, I can ask it to set up a quick call with someone, analyze my calendar and let me know where I can fit in a specific focus block, book an appointment for me, or even pull up a document. One of my favorite use cases for the AI Assistant is asking it to quickly clear up distracting tabs I opened while sidetracked. I don't have to switch between apps or tools to get things done -- everything flows naturally within the same environment. That's what truly makes its assistant stand out from a lot of other "AI in your browser" experiences I've tried. At the end of the day, it's like Chrome Except it actually feels built for 2025 Perplexity is a Chromium-based browser, which essentially means it's built on the same open-source foundation that powers Google Chrome and a bunch of other browsers. In addition to this meaning the underlying technology is pretty much the same, most Chromium browsers also adopt Chrome's familiar layout. Though Comet adds its own branding touches, like the Assistant shortcut on the sidebar, you still get that familiar Chrome feel, which made adjusting to it almost effortless. I personally prefer Comet's user interface over Chrome's or any other browser, really (even though it feels slightly cluttered at times). Though Safari had been my primary browser before I switched to Comet, I relied on Chrome for years before that. I'd spent years building up my extensions list, and I lost access to most of them when I moved to Safari. Some of the extensions that are free on Chrome are paid on Safari, so I even had to pay for a few that I'd been using for years -- which was honestly annoying. With Comet, I have access to all my favorite Chrome extensions again, and they work exactly as they did before, without any compatibility issues or extra setup. So, Comet pretty much feels just as fast and familiar as Chrome, but has its own AI features layered on top (which, like I mentioned, I think are genuinely useful). You can now try Comet for free This week, Perplexity announced that anyone can now download Comet and start using it completely free. Previously, you had to be subscribed to Perplexity's $200/month Max tier, join a waitlist, and cross your fingers for access. You could also ask someone who already had access to Comet to share an invitation link with you, though each user only had a limited number of invites to give out. With the browser now being completely free, there's really no reason not to give it a try. It's helped me save hours and hours of redundant work, and I can only imagine how the AI browser will improve as time passes.

Perplexity CEO: Comet AI browser can boost productivity so companies won't have to hire more people

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas: Comet browser is meant to be 'a true personal assistant' Perplexity AI CEO and founder Aravind Srinivas said on Friday that the startup's Comet browser can boost productivity so that companies won't need extra employees. "Instead of hiring one more person on your team, you could just use Comet to supplement all the work that you're doing," Srinivas told CNBC's "Squawk Box." The CEO said the artificial intelligence-powered web browser is a "true personal assistant" that allows users to complete more tasks in the same amount of time and said that the productivity gained could be worth $10,000 per year for a single person. AI is already being deployed across businesses to save headcount and make operations more efficient, but the labor impact has so far been "limited," according to Goldman Sachs chief U.S. economist Jan Hatzius. Srinivas estimated that the value of "human digital knowledge work" contributes around $25 trillion to the gross domestic product, so a 20% gain in productivity could easily amount to $5 trillion in GDP growth. Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee agreed with Srinivas that AI could be a boon to the overall GDP if it can raise productivity growth and service, but cautioned about massive AI infrastructure spending.

Perplexity's Comet AI browser is now free for everyone

Perplexity's Comet AI browser is now free for everyone worldwide. The browser had previously only been available to Perplexity Max users . The company says that it has "become the most sought-after browser on the internet with millions signed up to the waitlist." Now that waitlist is gone and everyone can get to downloading. Perplexity went on to note that this isn't a limited-time promotion as Comet "will always be free." For the uninitiated, Comet is a browser that uses Perplexity AI as the default search engine. A chatbot accompanies each search in the sidebar and users can ask it to answer questions, summarize text and, in some cases, take actions like sending emails or looking up directions. Comet pulls information from the web and correlates that data into AI-generated responses, so make sure to double-check the important stuff. This is just the latest step for the company. Perplexity is currently working on a mobile version of the browser and an integrative AI assistant. It's also far from the only company stuffing AI into a web browser. Comet joins and in this effort.

Comet

Comet is the new AI-powered web browser developed by Perplexity. Comet browser by Perplexity is the AI browser that acts as a personal assistant. Automate tasks, research the web, organize your email, and more with Comet. What search engine does Comet use? Comet uses Perplexity's search engine, optimized for fast and accurate answers. Perplexity search gives you the choice to navigate the web and check sources for original facts. Does Comet store my email content or account credentials on specific websites? Comet may process some local data using Perplexity's servers to fulfill your queries. This means Comet reads context on the requested page (such as text and email) in order to accomplish the task requested. Account credentials (like passwords and credit cards) are stored locally on your device's secure vault, which varies depending on the OS, and never on Perplexity's servers. What does Comet do with integration permissions (like accessing Gmail or scheduling)? For Perplexity searches that relate to your email or schedule, Comet may ask whether you want to grant "Perplexity Connector" elevated integration access, such as integrations to third-party services. Integration access granted to Perplexity is strictly opt-in and users can opt-out at any time. You retain full control over these permissions and may revoke or modify them at any time within Perplexity settings. Data is also only used when relevant and requested by the user. Features The Assistant Sidebar (Alt + A) * Comet's AI assistant lives in a collapsible sidebar and understands every webpage you visit. Capabilities include: * Content Analysis: Ask questions, explain concepts, describe images * Cross-Tab Intelligence: Compare information across multiple tabs * Task Automation: Compose emails, schedule meetings, make purchases * Autonomous Navigation: Fill out forms, navigate webpages, engage with web content One-Click Summarization (Alt + S) * Every webpage includes instant summaries for articles, videos, PDFs, and social media content. Voice Mode (Shift + Alt + V) * Interact with Comet entirely through speech for hands-free browsing, searching, and tab management. Smart Tab Management * AI-powered organization that automatically: * Groups related tabs by topic * Closes duplicate or unused tabs * Creates color-coded collections * Maintains context across tab switches Tips and Best Practices: * Writing Effective Prompts * Be specific: "Compare camera specs in a table" vs. "help with phones" * Use command prefixes: "take control of my browser" for automation * Reference tabs: "@tab-name" for specific content * Structure requests clearly for better results

You no longer need to pay $200 to use Perplexity's Comet browser

AI is changing pretty much every part of our lives nowadays, and browsers seem to be the current target. The first time I went hands-on with an AI browser was when Opera announced Neon as a concept browser (which is now finally publicly available). I was lucky enough to be given access to Neon's developer beta, and even though it wasn't a final build, the concept behind it was simply incredible. I began using Neon to handle the monotonous tasks I'd catch myself doing, and that alone was enough to make me realize how game-changing AI browsers will be. Once I went hands-on with Neon, I began obsessively trying out every AI-powered browser I could find. Perplexity's Comet has been one of my favorite AI browsers I've tried so far, partly because I absolutely love Perplexity. Though Comet is a browser with genuinely useful features, I've struggled to recommend it to most people because of how expensive it is. Well, that's no longer a problem. You can now download Comet for free As announced via a blog post, Comet can now be downloaded globally for completely free by clicking this link. If you haven't had the opportunity to explore Comet yet, it's Perplexity's AI-powered Chromium-based browser. It's built with AI at its core and lets you instantly access Perplexity, with its smart assistant residing on the sidebar at all times. The assistant can perform all sorts of tasks like sorting your emails, analyzing your calendar and Gmail and letting you know what's important, and even taking matters into its own hands to respond to emails and schedule events. Email and calendar management isn't all it can do -- it can even perform quick tasks like clearing out all your distracting tabs in one go or even booking a flight for you. Perplexity first launched Comet under limited release on July 9, and the AI giant gave users two different options to access the browser. You could either sign up for Comet's waitlist (and Perplexity now claims that millions of people have joined the waitlist), or you needed to be subscribed to Perplexity Max, which only cost $200/month. The only way to get access to the browser without waiting for luck to strike and get off the waitlist was to get an invite code from someone who already had access to Comet. That's precisely how I ended up getting access to Comet. A couple of weeks ago, PayPal and Venmo announced a collaboration with Perplexity that allowed users to skip the waitlist and get early access to Comet, along with a 12-month trial of Perplexity Pro (valued at $200/year). Now, the agentic AI browser is available to everyone for free, and you don't need to subscribe to any of Perplexity's paid plans to begin using it. Fortunately, this isn't a marketing gimmick either -- the company explains that Comet will always be free. Comet is currently desktop-only. Alongside announcing that the browser is now completely free to use, the company also revealed its plans to launch Comet's mobile app soon. Perplexity also announced its partners for its new standalone subscription, Comet Plus. This is a $5 standalone subscription, which Perplexity Pro and Max subscribers will get for free, giving users access to curated news content. Perplexity's Comet Plus partners include CNN, The Washington Post, Le Monde, and more. I personally think it's quite admirable that Perplexity decided to make this move, given that most AI browsers nowadays are launching with a paywall. For instance, for full access to Opera Neon, you need to shell out $19.90/month! So, I'm glad more people will finally get to see how incredible Comet is!

Perplexity AI rolls out Comet browser for free worldwide

Aravind Srinivas, chief executive officer Perplexity AI, during a news conference at the SK Telecom Co. headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Sept.4, 2024. Perplexity AI on Thursday announced that its artificial-intelligence-powered web browser Comet is available worldwide, and will be free to users. The Comet browser is designed to serve as a personal assistant that can search the web, organize tabs, draft emails, shop and more, according to Perplexity. The startup initially launched Comet in July to Perplexity Max subscribers for $200 a month, and the waitlist has ballooned to "millions" of people, the company said. Perplexity's decision to provide Comet for free could help it attract more users as it works to fend off rivals like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic that have their own AI browser offerings. In September, Google rolled out Gemini in its Chrome browser, Anthropic announced a browser-based AI agent in August and OpenAI announced Operator, an agent that uses a browser to complete tasks, in January. Perplexity made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser in August.

Perplexity's $200-a-month 'AI' Comet browser is now free

Comet can now be used without a subscription or an invite, though the various "agentic" goodies are still rate-limited for free users. Would you like a browser that browses the web for you? Presumably excluding malware or other nasty stuff that's been a concern for decades? Then Perplexity's Comet "AI" browser might be for you...though the $200-a-month price tag for the company's "Max" plan might not. But now it's free, with some big limits. The Comet browser was always intended to be a free competitor to Chrome and other browsers, though it started out locked behind that massive "AI" paywall. (In fact, Perplexity is so committed to the browser bit that it briefly entertained buying Chrome from Google, before the U.S. government decided that antitrust laws are more like guidelines.) As of today it's free for anyone to use, along with its LLM-powered Sidecar feature, according to TechCrunch. Though the download site still indicates you either need a subscription or an invitation to use it, I was able to download and install it without logging in. But in order to get the full powers of the browser, you'll still need that $200-a-month subscription. Without it you're rate-limited for its various tools, including text generation, shopping, and even logging in and "browsing" using your identity. Just be careful -- like many LLM tools it has some rather glaring security issues. Chris Hoffman tried out Comet in an extended test, and found it interesting but pretty barebones once you get beyond the "agentic AI" features. "Comet doesn't feel designed to be your day-to-day browser -- as it is right now, it's more of a flashy demo," he says.

Perplexity just make its AI browser totally free to download -- here's why you should choose it over Chrome

Perplexity, the AI-browsing giant, launched its Comet browser just a few months ago. Since then, I've spent some time messing around with it and can't help but feel that it could well be the future of browsing. The one glaring problem is (or rather, was) the waitlist. When Perplexity first launched this new browser, there was a waitlist to join in the hundreds of thousands. Whilst Perplexity was steadily getting through that list, the company has suddenly announced that Comet will be completely free for anybody to download. "Comet is now available to everyone in the world. In the last 84 days, millions have joined the Comet waitlist looking for a powerful personal AI assistant and new ways to use the internet. The internet is better on Comet", the company announced in a post on X. You can download the Comet browser and install it on either Windows or Mac. The experience is very similar to the original Perplexity experience that you would find via its website. To be exact, it feels a lot like Google Chrome with Perplexity slapped on top. When you sign in, you can use your Google Chrome account to bring over your bookmarks, passwords, and key information. Where it differs most evidently from Chrome is the Perplexity assistant that follows you around your internet experience. With this, you can ask questions about the page you're on, or ask for supporting information. For example, while scrolling on the Tom's Guide website, I asked Perplexity Comet, "What is the best chatbot?". While it used Tom's Guide as a base to answer this, the assistant brought in an array of other supporting answers to help. This tool can be used to help find information on the website that you are on, but also to complete tasks. For example, you can ask Perplexity's assistant to find and book a table at a nearby restaurant with certain requirements. While it will ask before booking, it will search all of the available locations and find a table for you. You can do the same thing for ordering items from Amazon, filing out forms, and more. Simply ask Comet to complete a task, and it will go off in the background to do it. This is where Comet thrives. Google isn't short on AI tricks right now, but for all the Gemini-based improvements to Chrome, it still doesn't feel as cohesive as Comet if you're looking to go all-in on agentic browsing.

I just tried the Comet browser from Perplexity - and I can't believe it's free now

Although AI companies are betting on their browsers' ability to entice users, their mainstream appeal remains uncertain Perplexity has made its AI-powered Comet browser free worldwide, no longer reserving it for those willing to spend $200 a month for a Perplexity Max subscription. It's a big move, and one that Perplexity claims will never change. But whether making Comet free will make it popular remains an open question, even as AI‑driven browsers proliferate. Comet is a Chromium‑based browser that embeds Perplexity's AI throughout. The initial homepage is a chat with the AI. You can open the Comet Assistant as a side panel from every website. It watches what you're doing and offers help with whatever task you're engaged in, from summarizing big chunks of text to making grocery lists on shopping platforms and even going through your own data (with your permission) to pull answers from your email, calendar, and more. If you like using AI tools regularly, there's an obvious advantage in not having to switch windows or paste URLs each time you want to engage with an AI assistant. Although Comet and its main features are free, some more advanced tools are only available to Comet Plus and Max subscribers. For instance, Comet Plus bundles curated journalism from major publishers, while Max subscribers can get Comet to run its AI tools for hours at a time with the Background Assistant feature. By making Comet free for most things, Perplexity clearly hopes to capture people's browsing time, not just search queries. After all, if your AI browser is always there, it becomes the default mode. You might stop searching websites or switching tabs; you'll talk to your side panel instead. Perplexity is also working to push Comet onto phones. It needs every edge it can get as it faces AI integration by Google and Microsoft in their respective browsers, as well as newcomers like Opera's new Neon AI browser, which features subscription pricing. Perplexity likely hopes Comet will be a new (more successful) Netscape in terms of shifting how people browse online. Ironically, it does so by bringing back a more sophisticated version of the walled garden approach familiar to those of us who once remembered AOL keywords rather than URLs. The assistant could save you time and effort trawling the web for information, but you'd have to trust it's doing it at least as well as you would. My own experiments with it went remarkably well. I connected the browser to my Google account and asked it to create a calendar of upcoming events based on a search for invitations and related terms. A couple of minutes later, I had my next two months in place, and the AI had follow-up suggestions to fill in the gaps. Next, I tested its connection with other apps and asked for a recipe for Ceaser salad, and to put the ingredients into a shopping cart for a grocery store near me. Comet didn't fully auto-checkout, but it opened the ordering page, filled in my email and address, selected the items from a linked recipe, and queued the order for confirmation. Finally, I semi-randomly came across a complicated scientific paper about neural decoding in rodents and opened it in a tab, then asked Comet Assistant to create a couple of charts based on the experiments. It parsed the PDF, extracted the underlying data where available or interpolated it from the text, and presented the charts, along with a clear annotation of their meaning. Those three tasks - ordering food, scheduling from emails, and charting data - felt like glimpses of how AI browsing can shift from passive viewing to active doing. The conversational flow, combined with page-aware context, made them smoother than toggling between search, email, calendar, and spreadsheets. Of course, it wasn't perfect; there was some lag, and a couple of times, I had to further explain myself, but overall, it was a very impressive result. At the same time, I was keenly aware that the AI integration meant it could see more of my browsing, which raised some discomfort around privacy. Still, if Comet in its free form proves stable and reliable, Perplexity may succeed in redefining what a browser should do. We may find ourselves expecting not just to surf, but to converse with the web.

Perplexity launches Comet AI browser for everyone: How to try it

Perplexity has officially launched its AI web browser, Comet, for all to use. Credit: May James/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Perplexity has officially launched its Comet AI web browser to everyone for free. At this time, Comet is only available as a desktop browser. Over the summer, AI company Perplexity launched its very own web browser known as Comet. However, when Comet first rolled out, the AI web browser wasn't available to everyone. Users either needed a paid Perplexity subscription, or they needed to sign up for a wait list and get invited to try the browser out. Or they could've scoured the internet for an invite code. Or begged someone who had extra. Now, there's no subscription, waitlist, or invite code required. (Now, people are hunting down Sora 2 invite codes.) Here's how to download Comet from Perplexity. Perplexity has set up a very simple landing page for Comet, so simply head to the Comet website and follow these instructions. Comet is currently available for Windows (Windows 10 and 11) and macOS (M1 or newer chips), but Perplexity says it will be launching for more platforms in the near future. Comet is an AI web browser from the AI search engine company Perplexity. Mashable tested Comet out back when it was invite-only in July. Perplexity's stand out feature that separates it from other web browsers is its integrated AI features, particularly its built-in AI assistant. Perplexity users don't have to have a browser tab with an AI chatbot open or a separate app at the ready. Perplexity's AI assistant enables users to interact, ask questions, and assign tasks right there in the browser itself. AI web search is increasingly becoming a hot commodity. Google clearly views AI search as the direction search engines should go in, which explains why they've integrated AI Mode so visibly into its default web search engine. Google's web browser Chrome is extremely popular, so much so that it commands nearly 72 percent of the entire web browser market share around the world. And because Google Search is built-in as the default search engine in Chrome, the browser's popularity ensures that Google's search engine remains popular too, even as the quality of Google search degrades. Perplexity, an AI search company, wants to replicate Chrome and Google Search's tandem success. As more internet users move to Comet, it ensures more users perform web searches with Perplexity, the built-in default search engine in the AI web browser. Did you try out Comet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below. You can also get prompt ideas and other resources at the Perplexity Comet Resource Hub.

Perplexity's Comet browser goes free and it's an easy pick over Chrome or Safari

This is the AI browser of the future, and it delivers far more substance than hype. I recently wrote about the massive shift happening in the browser world, and how AI-powered skills and shortcuts have dramatically changed the experience. Perplexity's Comet is leading that race, and after months of remaining exclusive to paid users, it is now freely available for all without any invite hassles. Why does it matter? Comet is built atop the Chromium engine, which means all your browsing data (extensions, history, bookmarks, and log-ins) can seamlessly be carried over. It offers a sleek UI with a lovely dark mode look, but there are a few functional add-ons that set it far apart. Recommended Videos The persistent Assistant, which can be accessed in a sidebar within every tab, is a fantastic way to dig for further information without having to open another tab. It is contextually aware, which means you can ask it to summarize information and take any action related to the content appearing on the screen. Moreover, you can easily combine multiple tabs to take actions, such as clustering a dozen Amazon tabs to compare products. And thanks to the connector system, the AI assistant can also take action across services such as Gmail and WhatsApp using natural language commands. It's pretty terrific to witness in action. How does it redraw the lines? My favorite Comet feature is shortcuts. Think of it as custom agents designed to autonomously perform multi-step tasks with a simplem one-word command. You can create these shortcuts by just describing their intended action, giving them personalized names, and summoning them using a "/" query. It's pretty simple, but extremely convenient. I have created shortcuts that do a deep background research, pull up information from specified sources, find discount codes, launch my work tabs with a single click, and more. You can switch between multiple AI models, such as OpenAI's GPT or Anthropic's Claude, and take advantage of agentic features such as Deep Research, similar to what you get with ChatGPT and Gemini. Talking about agentic usage, the built-in AI agent can also handle multi-step tasks autonomously. For example, it can place an order on Amazon by just saying "order items for making chicken salad. Pick the fastest delivery option." Overall, the browser is a rewarding experience, primarily because it can handle repetitive tasks and make quick work of activities that would otherwise take plenty of manual work.

Perplexity's AI Browser Is Now Available for Free for Everyone

The big feature here is the browser's agentic AI, which can do things on the internet on your behalf. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Much has been said about Comet, Perplexity's web browser, not just because of its AI features, but also because of its paywall. Early access was initially reserved to a waitlist of Perplexity Max users, a subscription that costs $200 per month, before Perplexity opened up access to Perplexity Pro users, who only need to pay $20 per month. Still, seeing as most web browsers are free to use, I imagine most people still shied away from trying Comet because of the price. If that sounds like you, there's good news. On Friday, Perplexity made Comet available to anyone who wants to try it for free. You don't need to subscribe to any Perplexity plan, nor do you even need a Perplexity account -- though the company has some features tied to those who sign in. Comet is built on Chromium, so if you're coming from Chrome, or another Chromium browser like Edge, you'll be able to jump right in. Installing Comet is as easy as any other web browser: just head to Perplexity's website, and choose "Download Comet." Even setting up the browser feels familiar, as you can import another Chrome profile, choose a profile pic, and set a name. But of course, the real advertised advantage here is the AI assistant. Like other AI-powered browsers, Comet has a built-in chatbot you can talk to about whatever it is you want -- particularly the web pages you happen to be browsing. But Comet's AI is agentic, which means you can ask the AI to do things for you. If you ask it to take you to a specific website, it will (though I'm not sure that's any faster than simply typing in the site by hand). If you ask it to open a specific link on the page, you can see the bot take over the page, and choose the URL you asked for. For example, I asked the assistant to open Lifehacker, then asked it to click on our article "How to Browse the Dark Web." It did both of these things, and even offered a summary of the dark web piece. But Perplexity says you can also request more complex tasks: According to the company, the assistant can draft emails on your behalf, build websites, make purchases, create citations, add to your calendar. There's even a voice mode, as with other AI bots like ChatGPT or Gemini, so you can talk to the browser if you want to. I'm still not sold on the idea that injecting agentic AI into my web browser is what I need to better experience the internet. Maybe I need to spend some time with Comet to experience that "future." But seeing how often the tech still makes mistakes -- not the mention the untapped security risks -- I'm not sure I want to hand off all of my browsing tasks to AI just yet. Still, if you're interested, you can give it a go without spending a dime.

Perplexity's Comet is Now Free For All | AIM

The browser, capable of performing actions autonomously as instructed by the user, was only available on a waitlist basis, and for the $200 monthly Max plan. Comet is frequently presented as an alternative to Google Chrome. It utilises Perplexity's AI capabilities, allowing users to chat with the assistant about the webpage content and automatically perform actions using natural language commands. Additionally, it allows users to easily import Chrome extensions, bookmarks, and settings. However, even Google has stepped up and recently released an array of new AI and agentic features to Google Chrome. Free users will have limited browser access, while the $20/month Pro plan and the $200/month Max plan offer extended features, including Comet Plus, which grants access to 'high quality' journalism from partner sources compensated for providing content to the AI assistant. However, Comet Plus can be purchased for $5 per month by users on the free plan. Additionally, the Max plan will receive various early access features on Comet. "When Perplexity users first downloaded Comet, the number of questions they asked increased by 6-18X in the first day," Perplexity said in a blog post, claiming that the browser has become the 'most sought after AI product of the year.' Currently, Perplexity Comet is only available for Windows and Mac, and a preview version of the mobile app has been released. Alongside this, Perplexity also announced 'Background Assistants' for Comet, which autonomously perform multi-step tasks in the background. In a conversation with a spokesperson from Perplexity, TechCrunch reported that the feature can perform tasks such as sending an email, finding direct flights at a specific time, and adding the cheapest concert tickets to your cart, among others. The report added that it will be available as an early access feature for the $200 monthly Max plan. Additionally, the newly launched Email Assistant on Perplexity Comet is accessible with the Max plan. This feature allows users to include the email assistant in any thread to perform tasks, prepare draft replies for incoming messages, and more.

Perplexity makes Comet AI browser free, launches background assistant and Chess.com partnership

AI search startup Perplexity is making its Comet browser available to all users for free, positioning the product to compete with major search engines and browsers. To accompany the free launch, the company has also introduced a new "background assistant" for its premium subscribers and announced a partnership with Chess.com to drive adoption. The Perplexity Comet browser, which first launched three months ago exclusively for subscribers of Perplexity's $200-per-month Max plan, features a sidecar assistant that helps users summarize content, answer questions about web pages, and manage their browsing. The move to a free model positions Comet to compete with established browsers like Google Chrome, newcomers like Dia, and the anticipated AI-powered browser from OpenAI. To succeed, Perplexity will need to demonstrate that Comet's agentic capabilities provide reliable productivity gains that encourage users to switch from their current browsers. For users of its top-tier Max plan, Perplexity is introducing a new "background assistant." A company spokesperson described it as "a team of assistants working for you" that can be managed from a central "mission control" dashboard. The assistant is designed to perform multiple tasks on a computer in the background while the user focuses on other work. For example, a user could instruct the assistant to send an email, add the cheapest tickets for a concert to a shopping cart, and find the best direct flight on a specific date. The user can monitor the progress in the dashboard and intervene or take over at any point. The background assistant also has "better connectors," allowing it to access other applications on the user's computer. To encourage users to download the new free browser, Perplexity has partnered with Chess.com. From October 2 to November 1, anyone who logs into their Chess.com account using the Comet browser will receive special benefits. "Chess.com's community embraces strategy, curiosity, and continuous learning -- qualities that also define how people use Perplexity. This partnership is a natural fit, especially as we introduce our Comet browser." said Ryan Foutty, Perplexity's VP of Business. While the core browser is now free, Perplexity continues to offer several paid tiers with additional features.

Perplexity's Comet Browser Is Free for Everyone, But Should You Use It? - Phandroid

Perplexity is making waves with its AI-powered Comet browser, now available free to everyone after months on a waitlist previously limited to $200/month subscribers. While that sounds like a steal, there are some serious security and privacy concerns you need to know about before hitting that download button. Perplexity announced that Comet is now available globally without a waitlist. The Perplexity Comet browser features an AI assistant that can answer questions, summarize content, draft emails, and even handle shopping tasks. Since its limited release in July, the company claims millions joined the waitlist, with early users asking 6 to 18 times more questions on day one. The big selling point? An AI copilot built directly into your browser that's always there to help. But here's where things get dicey. Security researchers at LayerX recently uncovered a vulnerability called "CometJacking" that lets attackers hijack the browser's AI through a malicious URL. One click on a weaponized link can turn Comet's AI assistant against you, stealing emails, calendar data, and other sensitive information from connected services. The attack uses simple tricks like Base64 encoding to bypass Perplexity's security measures and exfiltrate your data to remote servers. Even more concerning? When LayerX reported these findings to Perplexity under responsible disclosure guidelines in August, the company responded that they "could not identify any security impact" and marked it as "Not Applicable." Similar vulnerabilities were also discovered by Brave's security team, who found that malicious instructions embedded in web pages could trick Comet into accessing data from other tabs. But wait, there's more. Privacy concerns extend beyond just security holes. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas has been transparent about the browser's data collection practices. According to TechCrunch, he openly stated that Comet will track everything users do online to sell "hyper personalized ads." The browser is designed to learn how you think and what you do across every site you visit, including potentially sensitive services like banking and healthcare. Now, to be fair, this isn't exactly new territory. Google already does something similar with Chrome, collecting browsing data to power personalized ads and services. So Perplexity's approach isn't breaking new ground in terms of data collection. The difference? Chrome has years of security hardening and a massive security team behind it. Comet is brand new and already showing cracks. The browser joins other AI-powered options like Google's Gemini-integrated Chrome, Microsoft Edge with Copilot, and The Browser Company's Dia. But unlike these established players, Comet is still working out fundamental security issues while handling your most sensitive data. So should you download it? If you're curious about AI browsers and want to experiment, sure, give it a try. But maybe skip logging into your bank account or accessing confidential work files until Perplexity takes security concerns more seriously. And remember, if you're not paying for the product, you are the product.

Perplexity's AI Comet Browser Is Now Available to All Users for Free

On Google Play, the Comet browser is available for pre-register Perplexity's artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Comet browser is now available to all users. On Thursday, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas announced the general availability of the browser. So far, only those who had the Perplexity Max subscription or had an invite could access the browser. The AI-powered browser is currently available on Windows and Mac, although mobile apps are also being developed. Comet's biggest highlight is a sidebar AI assistant that can summarise content, analyse multiple web pages, and even perform certain agentic actions. Comet Browser Comes to All Users In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), India's youngest billionaire and the CEO of Perplexity, announced the general availability of the Comet browser. The AI-powered browser was first launched in July and was kept exclusive to Max subscribers on an invite basis. While the invitations were expanded to Pro subscribers and the free tier in subsequent months, it was not possible to directly download and use the platform. This is not the case anymore. The browser uses the same search engine that powers Perplexity's native platform. So, if users make a search query directly in the URL bar, they will get the familiar Perplexity-style response with the same formatting and layout. One of the biggest highlights of the browser is the AI assistant, which is available as a sidebar. It can be activated by clicking a button in the toolbar. Once activated, the assistant can automatically gain context from all the open tabs and can answer user queries about the content. For instance, users can visit an e-commerce platform's product listing page and ask the chatbot to find a website that ships the same product more quickly. Interestingly, the Comet browser's AI assistant also comes with agentic capabilities. Users can ask it to book a meeting, send an email based on a web page they're browsing, or purchase a product from an e-commerce site. During a brief test, Gadgets 360 staff members asked it to purchase a 43-inch smart TV at the cheapest price possible, and the assistant searched the web to find the option and took us directly to the checkout page. Of course, this feature requires you to provide the AI with certain details, such as your location, e-commerce login data, and credit card details. If users do not give the credit card info, it will still take them to the checkout page and offer to guide them through the process as they manually make the payment.

An AI Company Just Made Its $200-a-Month Product Totally Free

Comet offers AI summaries from "high-quality" sourcing with an "assistant" built in. In July, AI startup Perplexity, valued at around $20 billion, launched an AI browser called Comet. The $200-a-month service offered a search engine with AI-generated summaries (focused on high-quality sources) and an "assistant" built into the browser that can automate web searching and other tasks. Now, it's free. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told Business Insider on Wednesday: "We want to build a better internet, and that needs to be accessible to everybody." Comet can access apps like Gmail, LinkedIn, and your calendar to automate everyday tasks, including drafting replies to emails and scheduling appointments. Srinivas told The Verge's "Decoder" podcast in July that he believes the browser can become your personal or executive assistant. Related: Perplexity CEO Says AI Coding Tools Cut Work Time From 'Four Days to Literally One Hour' Meanwhile, this week, Meta and OpenAI each launched AI-generated video feeds, which are being called creative "AI slop." OpenAI's Sora 2, for example, allows users to create videos of themselves doing anything, basically creating a collection of on-purpose deepfakes. Srinivas thinks Comet can stand out based on its "research paper quality" sourcing, and partnerships with top journalism outlets. At one time, Perplexity said Comet had "millions" on a waitlist. "I think slop is fundamentally going to be easier to create now, and it's going to be hard to distinguish if something is AI or human on the internet," Srinivas said, per Business Insider. Google has also deployed AI additions into its Chrome browser with "AI mode" and "AI search," which TechCrunch notes has a "striking resemblance" to Perplexity.

Comet browser can help companies save on wage bill, says Perplexity CEO

Perplexity's Comet browser, designed as an autonomous personal assistant to boost productivity, was made free for all users. The company also launched Comet Plus, a new $5 monthly news subscription featuring content from major publishers who will be compensated from a $42.5 million revenue pool for user engagement. Perplexity's Comet browser can help companies boost productivity so that they don't have to hire more people, said cofounder and chief executive Aravind Srinivas. "Instead of hiring one more person on your team, you could just use Comet to supplement all the work that you're doing," Srinivas said on CNBC's Squawk Box. Srinivas said that Comet is meant to become a "true personal assistant" which can work without human intervention. "The future is AI's that are just doing work for you, even as you sleep, without you even asking for it. It's auto drafting your responses to emails... It's scheduling your meetings on your behalf and moving things around even without you asking for it," Srinivas said. On Thursday, Perplexity AI made its Comet browser free for all free, Pro and Max users. Launched in July, the browser was introduced to Perplexity Pro users in India last month. The AI company also unveiled Comet Plus, which will be a new subscription plan for both humans and AIs to consume news. The standalone subscription plan for the service will cost $5 per month and will be bundled with Perplexity Pro and Max. Initially, Comet Plus will host content from CNN, Conde Nast (publishers of The New Yorker, Wired, Architectural Digest and others), Fortune, Le Figaro, Le Monde, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. As announced in August, the participating publishers will be paid for user engagement, user agent actions, and indexing of content. Perplexity will pay them out of a $42.5 million revenue pool for the news it uses to answer queries, Wall Street Journal had reported.

Perplexity AI makes Comet browser free for everyone - The Economic Times

Perplexity AI has made its Comet browser free for all users, as announced by CEO Aravind Srinivas. The company also introduced Comet Plus, a new subscription for news consumption featuring content from major publishers like CNN and The Washington Post. Publishers will be compensated from a $42.5 million revenue pool for their content.Perplexity AI has made its Comet browser free for all users in the world, cofounder and chief executive Aravind Srinivas announced on Thursday. The Comet browser is now available to free, Pro and Max users, said in a post on X. Srinivas also took covers off Comet Plus, which will be a new subscription plan for both humans and AIs to consume news. In the first leg, Comet Plus will host content from CNN, Conde Nast (publishers of The New Yorker, Wired, Architectural Digest and others), Fortune, Le Figaro, Le Monde, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. As announced in August, the participating publishers will be paid for user engagement, user agent actions, and indexing of content. Perplexity will pay them out of a $42.5 million revenue pool for the news it uses to answer queries, Wall Street Journal had reported. Comet Plus will come with a $5 standalone subscription, or bundled with Perplexity Pro and Max.

Perplexity Makes AI-Powered Browser Available to All at No Cost | PYMNTS.com

Comet was launched in a limited release on July 9 and since then has had a waitlist joined by "millions of people," the company said in a Thursday (Oct. 2) blog post. The browser includes the Comet Assistant, which can help with research, meetings, code and eCommerce while the user is browsing the internet, according to the post. Perplexity also announced in its blog post the launch of Background Assistants, which are AI assistants that can work in the browser, the inbox or the background. The company will also make Comet available as a mobile app "soon," per the post. The browser is currently desktop-only. When introducing Comet in July, Perplexity said in a blog post that the AI-powered browser "transforms entire browsing sessions into single, seamless interactions, collapsing complex workflows into fluid conversations." During the July introduction, Perplexity made Comet available to subscribers of Perplexity Max, which costs $200 a month, CNBC reported Thursday. By making Comet available for free, the company will be better able to compete with other AI-powered browsers, such as those available from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic. Perplexity announced in a Wednesday (Oct. 1) blog post the first publishers to participate in Comet Plus, its service that gives users and their AI assistants access to participating publishers' journalism and compensates the publishers for that access. Comet Plus is available as a $5 standalone subscription or at no additional cost with a Perplexity Pro or Max subscription, according to the post. "As users demand a better internet in the age of AI, it's time for a business model to ensure that publishers and journalists benefit from their contributions to a better internet," the company said in a blog post.

Perplexity Takes on Google Chrome, Free Comet Browser Launched Globally

Perplexity Makes AI Comet Browser Free to Challenge Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic in AI Race Perplexity AI has made a significant advancement in artificial intelligence. Its Comet browser is now globally available and free of charge. The is designed to serve as a digital assistant. It allows users to surf the web, compose emails, manage tabs, and perform basic tasks. The company has marketed Comet as something greater than a search-and-browse utility. Early users are calling it a means to 'reimagine the internet experience' by integrating search, productivity, and automation into one seamless experience. Comet was initially launched in July as a limited product for Perplexity Max subscribers, who contributed Rs 16,600 ($200) monthly. The limited release generated a lot of hype, with the firm stating that the waitlist to access ballooned into the millions.

Perplexity AI makes its Comet smart browser free in the face of increased competition

On Thursday Perplexity AI announced the global and free launch of its intelligent browser Comet, previously reserved for subscribers to its premium Perplexity Max offering at $200 per month. Positioned as a personal assistant, Comet can search online, organize tabs, write emails and even facilitate purchases. The company says that millions of people were already on the waiting list to access the tool. This launch comes amid fierce competition among AI-powered browsers. Google (Alphabet) integrated its Gemini model into Chrome in September, Anthropic unveiled an integrated agent in August, and OpenAI introduced its Operator tool in January. In August, Perplexity made a bold $34.5bn bid to acquire Chrome. Known for its AI search engine, the startup has also distinguished itself with its revenue-sharing model with publishers, following criticism related to content plagiarism. In line with this, Perplexity launched the Comet Plus subscription in August, which provides access to content from media partners such as CNN, Condé Nast, The Washington Post, Le Monde and Le Figaro. The company is also preparing a mobile version of Comet and a tool called Background Assistant, designed to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Its CEO and co-founder, Aravind Srinivas, is scheduled to speak on CNBC on Friday to detail the ambitions behind this rollout.

Perplexity's Comet AI browser now free for all users, gets new Background Assistants feature

A key feature of Comet is the Comet Assistant, which works alongside users while browsing. Perplexity has officially made its Comet AI browser available for free to everyone. The browser, which first launched in a limited release earlier this year, quickly became one of the most in-demand AI products of the year. According to the company, millions of people joined the waitlist, eager to try it, and users who had early access discovered just how powerful Comet can be. Well, now anyone can download it for free at perplexity.ai/comet. In a blogpost, Perplexity noted that when users first downloaded Comet, the number of questions they asked increased by 6 to 18 times in the first day. "The internet is better on Comet," the company stated. Also read: OpenAI accuses Elon Musk of using lawsuit to harass and distract from xAI woes A key feature of Comet is the Comet Assistant, which works alongside users while browsing. It helps with research, meetings, coding, shopping, and more, all without disrupting your workflow. Every new tab in the browser comes with a ready-to-go Comet Assistant, allowing users to ask questions or get tasks done instantly. Besides making the Comet AI browser free for all, Perplexity has also announced Background Assistants feature. Background Assistants work for you simultaneously and asynchronously. "In the background, your personal team of AI assistants eliminates any task on your to-do list. Background Assistants are a platform where your curiosity becomes productivity," Perplexity explained. Also read: OpenAI's Sora app is already flooded with disturbing Sam Altman deepfakes As of now, Comet is only available on desktop, but the company plans to change that. Perplexity plans to launch a dedicated app that brings the same AI-powered experience to smartphones. To improve online content, Perplexity launched Comet Plus, partnering with top journalism sources to provide high-quality, trustworthy information.