On 2 October 2025, Perplexity AI released its AI-based web browser, Comet, to users worldwide free of charge and initially limited to Perplexity Max subscribers willing to pay a higher fee, after it was first released to users inside the company in July. As a personal AI assistant, Comet streamlines the process of going through online content by allowing one to do so using prompts that are intelligent and help to accomplish tasks like web searches, tab management, writing emails, and shopping on the internet through smart AI-based prompts. This is released in a highly competitive environment with tech giants, including Google Gemini built in Chrome, the Anthropic AI browser agent, and the Operator of OpenAI, all trying to dominate the new AI-native browser market.
Originally costing 200 dollars a month to access early when rolled out to a limited number of users, the waitlist of Comet had grown to millions of willing users, leading Perplexity to offer the browser as free to everyone with free accounts. This action is a push to increase user base and make the agentic AI capabilities embedded in the browser more democratic. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas announced this switch on social media, with the mission of creating a better internet that is accessible to all, but also keeping rate limits to control the demands on servers.
What to expect from Perplexity AI Comet Browser?
Here is what you can expect from the Perplexity AI Comet Browser.
Innovative features and agentic AI capabilities
Comet is distinguished by its built-in AI sidebar assistant that keeps running with browsing history to always help users- summarise articles, organise schedules, compose emails, automatise complex processes, etc.- without interrupting users in any way. The browser is based on the tried and trusted Chromium platform, with Chrome extensions and bookmarks, making a transition easy to those who use traditional browsers. The New Background Assistants provide a multitasking interface with multiple asynchronous tasks, which enhances productivity because it can be used as a team of AI assistants working in the background.
Comet is a personal AI assistant, which assists in web search, tab organisation, and email writing.
The browser provides automation of tasks whereby users can shop online, schedule and go through multi-step activities.
Comet is based on Chromium with Chrome extensions, and user interface elements of Chrome are adopted easily.
The AI assistant of Comet presents live summaries and contextual responses, enhancing the productivity of research.
The next Background Assistant is the asynchronous task management multitasking feature.
Comet Plus subscription provides high-quality content of reliable publishers such as CNN and Washington Post.
It is developed in mobile forms, extending AI powered browsing to smartphones.
The free version is supposed to democratise the access and compete with Gemini Google Chrome and other artificial intelligence browsers.
Perplexity has also launched Comet Plus, a 5 dollar per month subscription service that lets users access premium journalistic content on trusted sources such as CNN, The Washington Post, and Condé Nast and deals with publishing industry fears about content monetisation by sharing revenue with publishers. Direct competition of dominance browsers (Google Chrome) by Perplexity with free release of Comet, where AI integration in the form of Gemini was later, and Operator by OpenAI, which utilises browsing to facilitate task execution, is a challenger to the survival of dominance browsers.
Future roadmap: Mobile expansion and enhanced multitasking
In the future, Perplexity will roll out a mobile release of Comet to introduce the AI-enhanced search to smartphones. Other capabilities such as Background Assistants are assured to deliver asynchronous task management capabilities, adding to the capabilities of the browser beyond normal surfing to active assistance on the digital front. Such advancements make the Comet of Perplexity a futuristic browser that tries to reinvent the process of interacting with the internet by making the browsers more powerful with the help of AI.
The introduction of Comet by Perplexity AI of an AI-based, free, web browser is a radical move towards making intelligent web tools more accessible. With a smooth, permanent adoption of agentic artificial intelligence to automate operations and deliver real-time support, Comet is a powerful force that can be seen in an increasingly competitive AI browser market. Backed by an ethical revenue-sharing business model with publishers and with mobile expansion strategies, Perplexity will provide users with a smarter, more productive online experience that is unlike other browsers.