On Thursday, Perplexity AI declared that its web browser, Comet, which is driven by artificial intelligence, is free to use and accessible everywhere.
According to Perplexity, the Comet browser is intended to function as a personal assistant that can do a variety of tasks, including web searches, tab organization, email drafting, and shopping. The waitlist has grown to “millions,” according to the business, which first offered Comet to Perplexity Max users in July for $200 per month.
Perplexity’s choice to make Comet available for free may aid in growing its user base as it attempts to ward off competitors with their own AI browsers, such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Google released Gemini in the Chrome browser in September, Anthropic revealed a browser-based AI agent in August, and OpenAI introduced Operator, a browser-based agent, in January. In August of this year, Perplexity placed an unsolicited proposal of $34.5 billion for Google’s Chrome browser.
Its AI-powered search engine, which provides users with straightforward answers to queries and links to the original online source content, is Perplexity’s most well-known feature. Last year, the company introduced a revenue-sharing agreement with publishers after being accused of copying content from media publications.
According to a blog post, the company also unveiled Comet Plus in August, a subscription service that provides users with access to material from “trusted publishers and journalists.” CNN, Condé Nast, Fortune, Le Monde, Le Figaro, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times are Perplexity’s first publishing partners, the company announced Tuesday.
According to Perplexity, there will be more features soon. Comet’s mobile version and a feature called Background Assistant, which allows for asynchronous simultaneous work, were teased by the business.