A recent declaration from Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas just sent ripples through the corporate world. Srinivas boldly claims that his company’s new AI-powered browser Comet (as well as others like it) is poised to render the roles of recruiters and executive assistants largely redundant within a strikingly short timeframe.
Perplexity, known for its conversational AI search engine that provides direct, cited answers, is now venturing into the web browser space with Comet. This isn’t just another browser though; Srinivas sees Comet as an AI operating system designed for white-collar workers, along with tight integration with platforms like Gmail, Google Calendar, and LinkedIn.
During a recent appearance on the Decoder podcast, Srinivas articulated a vision where Comet could manage entire workflows with minimal human intervention. He asserted that a recruiter’s week-long work, from sourcing and outreach to follow-ups and scheduling, could be condensed into a single prompt using Comet. The AI tool is designed to proactively track responses, update spreadsheets, sync with calendars, resolve conflicts, and even prepare meeting briefs. Similarly, for executive assistants, Comet has the ability to handle meeting management, email triage, and document preparation through natural language commands.
This ambitious outlook places Comet in direct competition not only with traditional browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Apple Safari but also with emerging AI agents lrom OpenAI and others. Perplexity, which recently secured $500 million in funding, is reportedly in talks with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Comet, potentially expanding its reach from a few hundred thousand beta testers to perhaps millions of users by next year.
While Comet is currently in an invite-only beta that’s primarily only accessible to premium Perplexity users, the company has indicated plans to expand access to free users, though advanced AI-powered features may stay behind a paywall.
Srinivas’s predictions, while exciting for AI fans, raise immediate questions about job displacement. He acknowledges that AI’s rapid evolution, with breakthroughs every “three months or six months,” can be overwhelming. However, he also emphasizes the imperative for individuals to adapt, urging people to “spend less time doom-scrolling on Instagram” and instead invest time in learning AI tools. His comments mirror similar sentiment made recently by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who believes that fresh ideas allow humans to create new jobs that co-exist with AI.