Perplexity’s AI-Powered Browser Is Now Available for Free to Everyone.
Did you know you can configure Google to filter out junk? Follow these steps to improve your search results, including adding my work on Lifehacker as a preferred source .
Comet, a web browser from Perplexity, has been much talked about not only for its AI features but also for its paywall . Early access was initially reserved for Perplexity Max users, who subscribed for $200 per month , but Perplexity later expanded access to Perplexity Pro users, who only had to pay $20 per month. However, given that most web browsers are free, I suspect most people still shied away from Comet because of its price.
If this sounds like you, we have good news. On Friday, Perplexity made Comet available to everyone for free. You don’t need to sign up for any Perplexity plan or even have a Perplexity account, although the company does have some features tied to logged-in users. Comet is built on Chromium, so if you use Chrome or another Chromium-based browser, like Edge, you can start using it right away.
Installing Comet is as easy as installing any other web browser: just go to the Perplexity website and select “Download Comet.” Even setting up the browser feels familiar: you can import another Chrome profile, choose a profile photo, and set a name. But, of course, the main advantage is the AI assistant. Like other AI-powered browsers, Comet has a built-in chatbot you can talk to about anything, including the web pages you’re browsing. However, Comet’s AI is agent-based, meaning you can ask it to do things for you.
If you ask it to redirect you to a specific website, it will do so (though I’m not sure it’s any faster than just typing the address manually). If you ask it to open a specific link on a page, you’ll see the bot take control of the page and select the URL you specified. For example, I asked the assistant to open Lifehacker and then click on our article ” How to Browse the Dark Web .” It performed both actions and even offered a summary of the dark web article.
But Perplexity claims you can request more complex tasks: according to the company, the assistant can compose emails on your behalf, build websites, make purchases, create quotes, and add events to your calendar. There’s even a voice mode, like other AI bots like ChatGPT or Gemini , so you can chat with your browser if you prefer.
I’m still not convinced that implementing an AI agent into my web browser is what I need for a better web experience. Perhaps I should spend some time with Comet to get a feel for this “future.” But given how often this technology still makes mistakes , not to mention the untapped security risks , I’m not yet sure I want to hand over all my web browsing tasks to an AI. Still, if you’re interested, you can try it for free.