Perplexity launches Comet AI browser for free, challenging Google’s dominance

AI-powered answer engines have redefined the future of web browsing by making their AI-powered browser, Comet, available for everyone without any subscription fee.

The move eliminates the former subscription barrier, giving millions of people the chance to experiment with a browser that is not only capable of presenting the web as people know it, but also intelligently perceiving and interacting with it on their behalf.

Comet has a highly integrated AI assistant, formerly available to subscribers of its top-tier $200-per-month Max plan, but now its core differentiator.

In contrast to traditional web browsers or AI extensions, Comet has some of the features of a “sidecar” assistant which can be summoned at any moment to answer questions regarding the current webpage, summarization, and, most importantly, the use of its agentic features to click, navigate, and complete tasks on behalf of the user, e.g. price comparison or travelling information search.

The decision is made in light of the intense competition to introduce AI to the web browser, for instance, the integration of Gemini in Chrome, Copilot in Microsoft Edge etc.

However, Perplexity’s Comet is different, as it is entirely an AI agent rather than just a feature.

The international launch is a strategic move to capture market share in a browser market dominated by Google Chrome, which holds a 72% market share worldwide.

The approach of Perplexity is not to compete with Google by imitating Chrome but to provide a radically different AI-native experience.

According to the company, early users of Comet are posing more complex, conversational queries that are differ from traditional search queries.

This announcement comes amid a frenzied competition to integrate AI into web browser. 

Gemini is integrated into Chrome at Google, while Copilot is added to Microsoft Edge. New entrants such as Arc by The Browser Company and others are also emerging.

Perplexity, however, asserts a first-mover edge in creating a browser that is built around an agent based on AI, as opposed to a feature.

The Freemium model and privacy considerations

Although the main Comet browser will now be free, Perplexity is using a freemium business model.

The AI assistant and other shopping, travel, and financial tools are made available to free users.

Users can also pay $5 per month to subscribe to Comet Plus, an AI-edited news service featuring partner content from CNN, The Washington Post, and Conde Nast.

The free model, however, does not go without its concerns.

With this kind of access to the user's browsing history, including potentially sensitive sites such as online banking, privacy experts raise serious concerns about data collection by AI.

Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity, has been unsubtle in the desire of Comet to learn about its users, akin to the saying that a free product tends to make the user the product.

In the meantime, Perplexity is hoping that the potential of a more efficient, AI-based internet will be sufficient to persuade users to come over to their side, which could deprive Google of its hold on how the world browses the web.