Perplexity launches Comet, an AI-powered web browser

https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/09/perplexity-launches-comet-an-ai-powered-web-browser/

by gniting • 1 year ago

68 73 1 year ago

Use case for LLM-infested Chromium wrapper?

garciasn• 1 year ago

Videos from Perplexity as well as YouTubers show what it's supposed to do: provide you an interface to simplify your research, evaluation, and execution of written instruction.

For example: you're supposed to tell it to do something like, "plan my week for me including make me a menu plan, setup a grocery list and add everything I need to it, shop the list and allow me to pick it up on Sunday afternoon, and, in the meantime, plan for me 2 days of things to do." And supposedly, it will do all of these things for you automatically. I haven't tested it, but it basically this is intended to do all the things we've hoped AI would help us do--automatically. Will it be successful? Probably a bit better than we've come to expect, but it's nothing like we have built up in our minds.

AI has been game changing for me in my work life, but I have yet to find it useful for things like I laid out above. Maybe that's changing and this is the first step toward that future.

ParetoOptimal• 1 year ago

Track everything users do and sell the data.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523226

dang• 1 year ago

Recent and related:

Perplexity Comet - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44513769 - July 2025 (52 comments)

Comet Browser by Perplexity - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44511527 - July 2025 (14 comments)

kennywinker• 1 year ago

Comet, you say?

Free slogan, courtesy of Joe MacMillan: “Search it, find it, comet”

mpeg• 1 year ago

AI isn't the thing, it's the thing that gets us to the thing

owlninja• 1 year ago

Comet, it makes your teeth turn green...

wetwater• 1 year ago

One of the best shows I've ever watched.

ConfiYeti• 1 year ago

Halt and Catch Fire, if anyone is curious.

vpShane2• 1 year ago

Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell ‘hyper personalized’ ads

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/perplexity-ceo-says-its-br...

latexr• 1 year ago

A web browser which tracks everything you do and you have to pay for the privilege…

swed4208• 1 year ago

It's kind of wild how the west draws this distinction:

If China does it while being responsible and taking into account cost/benefits on overall human well being, it's Creepy Big Brother Communism.

If the US does it and charges money for it (or makes it 'free' by selling your personal info to untrustworthy companies / selling you junk you don't need) it's an innovative futuristic privilege.

Cold War propaganda was incredibly effective through generations.

edit: changed "If China does it for free" to "If China does it" since it had some distracting assumptions

internetter• 1 year ago

This reads like the onion

vpShane2• 1 year ago

It's the same website (techcrunch) that OP posted too, but if you watch any of Perplexity CEO's interviews, it's clear as day.

itsoktocry• 1 year ago

Just pitching to VCs...why would any person want that?

MangoToupe• 1 year ago

Ah. Well this explains why they didn't go with the pitch that AI can be a sufficient adblocker, which strikes me as the obvious use of AI.

bicepjai• 1 year ago

This makes me rethink their subscription I have. So we just have to assume any search we do on perplexity is tracked like hunting dogs ?

qoez• 1 year ago

I've always wanted a browser with a subscription fee

jabroni_salad• 1 year ago

don't let your dreams be dreams

https://www.aol.com/products/browsers/desktop-gold

notahacker2• 1 year ago

I wonder how many people pay that just for the nostalgia. Do they have the "you have email" voice?

whyenot• 1 year ago

Wow, $200/month for the privilege of being monetized and tracked even more closely than Chrome does. Sounds like a real winner.

felarof5• 1 year ago

if you want an open-source, privacy-first option -- check out https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523409 :)

phyzome• 1 year ago

Perplexing indeed.

Havoc• 1 year ago

Can't say I have much trust in any of these recent AI company launched browsers.

They have a proven track record of not respecting people's data...

rpastuszak• 1 year ago

I very rarely diss other people’s work, but Arc/Dia is a perfect example of that. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothes, without any clarity regarding their business model.

dawnofdusk2• 1 year ago

Not sure if it's the perfect example. Pretty sure Arc was shady before it had any AI stuff.

felarof5• 1 year ago

We just launched an open-source alternative -- you can download today; use local LLMs with ollama and not pay $200/month.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523409

eGQjxkKF6fif• 1 year ago

Whats the outlook for Linux with that

felarof5• 1 year ago

this is on our radar, we should have a linux build in 2-3 days!

we have macOS and windows build as of now.

GlitchRider474• 1 year ago

IMO this is not a true launch, just a beta only available to those who pay top dollar.

rvz• 1 year ago

Right after the "launch", most of the people that are praising the browser are either employees, paid influencers or fans of the CEO.

I am yet to see a normal "non-tech" person use Perplexity after being a longtime ChatGPT user.

panarchy• 1 year ago

How do we know it isn't just Vomet making comments about itself?

freedomben• 1 year ago

Maybe off-topic, but there are lots of rumors flying - will Apple acquire Perplexity?

havaloc• 1 year ago

Apple should acquire Perplexity - it's a pretty great product and combined with some privacy enhancements it's a win, and they could likely integrate it better than Google could with Gemini.

criddell2• 1 year ago

it's a pretty great product

Is it?

I was gifted a pro subscription for a year and after trying it for a few weeks I instead signed up for an Anthropic Claude subscription (which I pay $20 / month for) and I use that all the time.

What am I missing about Perplexity?

alwillis4• 1 year ago

Not just Perplexity but Anthropic as well, which would my preference.

dawnofdusk2• 1 year ago

Is Apple supposed to be one of the kind and benevolent megacorporations?

layer8• 1 year ago

We do not need any more big-tech concentration than we already have, rather less.

whywhywhywhy2• 1 year ago

If you like Anthropic's models shouldn't Apple buying them be something you don't want to happen?

Is Apple gonna want to be in the coding model in a dropdown in Cursor business? Not too sure they're interested in that.

okdood64• 1 year ago

As I understand it they don't even make any competitive foundational models themselves? Isn't that the kind of talent Apple is after?

felarof5• 1 year ago

Even if apple buys, would they kill Safari? I don't think so -- comet will have to die in that case.

symisc_devel• 1 year ago

Imagine paying $200/mo for this privacy nightmare

lvl155• 1 year ago

I don’t get it. Didn’t they launch this already a few month ago?

evo_9• 1 year ago

You’re probably thinking of The Browser Companies Dia Browser (replaced Arc). Came out last month, same AI focus.

senko• 1 year ago

I see multiple comments decrying the browser price.

Have we collectively forgotten how to read?

The browser is not $200/mo. It's available for free to those on the Max plan now, and will be rolling out to other plans.

I imagine users on all those plans get some value out of Perplexity other than the browser.

glimshe• 1 year ago

So... The main feature is the homepage setting and an AI tag that everyone else has had doe months?

oc1• 1 year ago

<< At launch, Comet will be available first to subscribers of Perplexity’s $200-per-month Max plan, as well as a small group of invitees that signed up to a waitlist.

Boy i already pay Anthropic that. Now i should pay another 200 bucks to use an ai browser? On top of all these ai saas that want another 20 bucks.

Perplexity launches Comet, an AI-powered web browser

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