By Janhvi Ahuja
Perplexity has declared that its Comet AI browser will now be accessible for free to users worldwide. Initially, the browser was introduced to Perplexity’s $200 per month Max subscribers and then became publicly available to all Pro subscribers last month as well.
The Comet browser incorporates several features, such as various agentic AI abilities. These are aimed at dethroning Google Chrome to help Comet move up the technological ladder. The characteristics of Perplexity’s new model are also competing with Browser Company’s Dia and Opera’s new Neon Browser.
As of now, the Comet browser is broadly available for download on Windows, Mac and iOS, whereas the Android applications are displaying a ‘coming soon’ icon. This browser is being promoted as one of the pioneering truly agentic browsers capable of performing actions on behalf of users, such as scheduling meetings, making online purchases and even comparing market products based on their pros and cons.
However, the free version of the Comet browser offers a limited selection of features as compared to the paid tier. Users of the free version can access Discover, Spaces, Shopping, Travel, Finance and Sports, but many additional features still remain behind a paywall.
In addition to these upgrades, users of the Perplexity Max version can now benefit from a new ‘background assistant’ that can autonomously execute and map out complex and multi-step tasks and procedures in the background while running its other functions.
Additionally, the company’s email assistance is exclusively available to Max subscribers. This AI tool enables users to conveniently connect with their email sites, such as Gmail and Outlook, to organize and prioritize emails. Alongside this, the tool also helps with identifying the most significant messages and arranging them as such. It also facilitates routine tasks such as summarizing lengthy emails, organizing email threads and scheduling meetings.
While Perplexity faced minimal competition in the AI browser market upon the initial launch of the Comet browser earlier this year, the competition has intensified with the growing digital landscape. For example, Google has recently introduced new features powered by Gemini to Chrome. And given the rapid advancements that the company is achieving in the AI sector, it is likely that even more features will be introduced in the near future.
In addition, Opera’s Neon browser, currently available only by invitation and behind a paywall, is also equipped with similar agentic AI features and functionalities. Furthermore, conventional browsers like Brave have been progressively incorporating AI into their applications.
While the digital advancements and incorporation of AI into our daily use browsers do prove to be beneficial, we must consider that continuously evolving technologies can inadvertently shape our dependence on AI, which strives for its own betterment.