Comet by Perplexity lets an AI agent browse, read and buy on your behalf
Comet by Perplexity is an AI-powered web browser: it summarizes pages, answers questions about your open tabs and carries out tasks for you, from inbox triage to price comparison. Downloading it costs nothing on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Built on Chromium, it pulls in your Chrome bookmarks, extensions and passwords within minutes. Access began as a perk of the $200-a-month Max plan; that wall has since come down worldwide.
- Built-in agent summarizes and questions any page
- Works with existing Chrome extensions and bookmarks
- Free on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS
- Voice mode for hands-free browsing
- Automates email triage, shopping and multi-tab research
- Automated tasks still fail from time to time
- Prompt injection flaws reported by security researchers
- Heavy on system resources when AI features run
A sidebar agent that reads the page so you don't have to
Comet's assistant lives in a collapsible sidebar and understands whatever page is on screen: it condenses an article, a PDF or a video, answers questions about it and cross-references several open tabs at once. You highlight a passage, ask for clarification, and the answer appears without leaving the window.
Under the hood sits Chromium), the same base as Chrome and Edge, so switching is painless. The start page swaps Google for Perplexity's cited answer engine, the recipe that made AI search engines a daily habit for millions.
Agentic mode goes further: you type an instruction, the assistant drives the browser.
- Sort the inbox and prepare draft replies
- Compare products and fill a shopping cart
- Group tabs by project from a single request
- Browse entirely by voice
From master's thesis to bargain hunting, one agent for many jobs
The same assistant serves very different profiles, and published reviews since launch point to a few clear patterns.
Reviewers do note that shopping automations sometimes run slower than a person in a hurry. For reading, synthesis and research, the time saved shows up within the first hour.
| Profile | What Comet handles |
|---|---|
| Student, researcher | Article and PDF summaries, source comparison |
| Market watcher | Digest of dozens of tabs, spotting conflicting claims |
| Online shopper | Price comparison, cart filling |
| Busy professional | Inbox triage, draft emails, calendar slots |
| Traveler | Itineraries, flight and hotel comparison |
Comet pricing, safety notes and what the paid tiers add
The free tier covers everyday browsing with usage caps on the assistant. Perplexity Pro, at $20 per month, raises those limits; Max, at $200 per month, adds background assistants that keep working while you do something else. The Comet Plus news add-on, $5 per month, comes bundled with Pro and Max. Figures shift over time, so treat Perplexity's subscription page as the reference.
One caution before you hand over the keys: security researchers have documented prompt injection attacks, where a booby-trapped page slips hidden instructions to the assistant. Perplexity patches as findings land, but keep banking and sensitive accounts away from agentic mode while the technology matures.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Comet browser free?
Yes, Comet downloads and runs at no cost on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, with usage caps on the AI assistant. Paid Perplexity plans raise those limits and add background automations. No payment details are required for the basic version; an account mainly serves to sync your settings across devices.
Is Comet safe to use?
Mostly yes for regular browsing, with one serious caveat around agentic features. Researchers have shown that hidden instructions inside a web page can manipulate the assistant, an attack known as prompt injection. The common-sense setup: use Comet for research and reading, and keep banking or sensitive logins in a conventional browser.
Comet or ChatGPT Atlas, which one to pick?
Both bet on agentic browsing with different foundations. Atlas, OpenAI's browser, builds on ChatGPT; Comet runs on Perplexity's cited answer engine, covers Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, and can be tried without paying anything. For anyone who checks sources before trusting an answer, Comet's citation-first approach is a genuine edge.
Does Comet collect your browsing data?
Some processing happens locally, and Perplexity says interaction data helps improve the service, with a switch in settings to opt out. Email and calendar access goes through optional connectors that you enable yourself and can revoke at any moment from your account settings, which keeps the data handover under your control.
Verdict: Chrome for the bank, Comet for the reading pile: plenty of people run that split, and it works. Heavy readers, deal hunters and anyone juggling twenty tabs will get real mileage out of the free version alone.
