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Perplexity is offering students one free month of Perplexity Pro.The company is positioning Comet as “study buddy, and tutor.” AI is rapidly becoming a fixture in the classroom.
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is becoming a fixture in the classroom. This is being pushed along at a brisk pace by tech companies eager to get their products into the hands of millions of students.
On Thursday, Perplexity became the latest AI developer to offer a back-to-school special: Students can access one free month of Comet, the company’s AI-centered web browsing platform that debuted in July to rival Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari. The browser is currently available through Perplexity Pro, which costs $200 annually.
Also: Some teachers are using AI to grade their students, Anthropic finds – why that matters
On its website, Perplexity called Comet “a 24/7 sidekick, study buddy, and tutor.” The browser comes with some features designed to boost its appeal among students, including Study Mode and interactive flash cards that can be generated from uploaded study materials.
To unlock the offer, users need to verify their student status via Perplexity’s website. They’ll then unlock one free month of Perplexity Pro. They’ll be granted an additional free month of access for every student they refer to the deal. After the trial ends, students can continue subscribing to Perplexity Pro for $4.99/mo — a 75% discount.
Perplexity is also trying to spread the word about its new browser through a one-year free trial of Perplexity Pro for PayPal and Venmo users in select countries.
Back to school (AI edition)
Amid concerns that easy access to generative AI tools will dampen critical thinking skills and otherwise hinder education, AI companies have been offering a compromise: We’ll continue pushing our products into the classroom, but those products will actually facilitate learning.
The AI-powered writing platform Grammarly, for example, recently released a suite of AI agents marketed to both working professionals and students. Those agents, which include a plagiarism-checker bot and another that will proofread your work, are intended to serve as automated writing assistants — not doing all of the work for you, but doing just enough to engage your writing skills and, in theory, help you to improve.
Also: PayPal and Venmo users get free year of Perplexity Pro and Comet AI browser
Just how well these student-facing initiatives from the likes of Perplexity and Grammarly perform remains to be seen. Like the rise of the smartphone, new AI tools will probably have some benefits upon learning (for example, by making much more information instantly available), while other effects could turn out to be more cognitively impairing. (Many of us struggle to get from points A to B these days without using our phones to help us retrieve directions and navigate.)
AI companies have also targeted teachers, many of whom have begun using generative AI tools at work. In July, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Anthropic announced a cumulative $23 million investment in the National Center for AI Instruction, a new training center in New York City where educators can learn how to incorporate AI responsibly into their teaching practices.