Can Perplexity's Comet AI Really Fix the 'Broken Internet'?
Go to a 'Business 101' class anywhere in the world and one of the first things entrepreneurs will learn is that their product should address the unmet needs of customers. Ideally, many millions of them.
That seems to be the guiding principle behind Perplexity's latest product, Comet, which is an AI-powered internet browser with a difference.
If you are a frequent user of social media, you may have felt a surge in nostalgia for the way the internet used to be a decade or two ago.
The feeling among many of these sentimental internet users is that the fundamental tenets of web browsing – exploration, curiosity and innocence – have been lost, washed away in a sea of adverts, quick answers and AI-generated slop.
Perplexity is marketing Comet as the antidote to this, fixing what it calls the "broken internet".
Perplexity argues that "the internet has stifled our curiosity" and that the current web model has converted the internet "into a digital yellow pages, where every path leads to a checkout button".
The company claims users who downloaded Comet increased their question-asking by six to 18 times on the first day of use.
This metric suggests the browser is far more conducive to exploration, as was the case when the internet was still novel.
The assistant-first model
So, how does it work?
Central to Comet's proposition is the Comet Assistant, an AI tool that operates within the browser environment.
The assistant can handle research, coding, meetings and e-commerce tasks without requiring users to switch between applications.
Each new tab spawns a fresh instance of the assistant, ready to respond to queries or execute actions.
Perplexity positions this as a departure from traditional chatbot interfaces, which the company describes as outdated.
"It's been an incredible to see how users adopted Comet and started asking questions that could never ask anywhere else," says Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity.
"That's what a truly personal AI with browsing and agent capabilities enables."
Beyond the browser
The company has expanded beyond browser-based assistance with Email Assistant, currently available to Max subscribers.
Users can carbon copy the assistant on email threads to handle scheduling, draft responses and manage inbox tasks.
Perplexity today announced Background Assistants, a system designed to work asynchronously on user tasks.
The company characterises this as "a platform where your curiosity becomes productivity", though concrete details about capabilities remain limited.
"People are tired of being part of someone else’s funnel and tired of slop," argues Dmitry Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer at Perplexity.
"They want a better internet. And we know the internet is better on Comet."
An ambitious expansion plan
Comet has operated exclusively on desktop since launch, but Perplexity has announced a forthcoming mobile application.
The mobile version, set for launch in a few weeks, will feature voice technology and an interface adapted for smartphone use.
The company claims the app will eliminate mobile advertising clutter and outdated app models, though exactly how this differs from existing mobile browsers remains unclear.
Alongside the standard browser, Perplexity has also announced Comet Plus, a programme partnering with established news publishers.
The company states this initiative aims to support journalism rather than simply aggregate content, though financial arrangements with publishers have not been disclosed.
Christian Perez, the Founder of tech firm Altivum, believes that Comet is very impressive when it comes to professional applications.
"I have been using Perplexity for several months and it immediately became my default web browser," he says.
"From real-time, up-to-date information to its enterprise-grade knowledge management and search-integrated Gen AI, Comet by Perplexity has become and invaluable tool for my work."
Is it Comet just a novelty?
Perplexity's rhetoric about fixing the internet relies heavily on assumptions about user behaviour and motivation.
The suggestion that people fundamentally want to ask more questions conflicts with decades of user experience research showing most internet users prefer quick answers to deep exploration.
The comparison to the Wright brothers and transistor inventors in the announcement suggests a grandiosity that may exceed the actual innovation on offer.
Browser-integrated AI assistants represent an incremental improvement rather than the revolutionary reimagining Perplexity's language implies.
The commercial model also raises questions.
If Comet eliminates the advertising and e-commerce focus that currently funds much of the internet, how will content creators sustain themselves?
The Comet Plus programme may address this, but only for a select group of publishers.
An ambitious experiment
Comet enters a crowded browser market dominated by Chrome, Safari and Edge.
Even technically superior browsers have struggled to gain meaningful market share against these established players.
Perplexity's strategy of positioning Comet as an AI-first experience may attract early adopters and technology enthusiasts.
Whether this appeal extends to mainstream users who have shown limited interest in changing their browsing habits remains the critical question.
The company's mission to "support the world's curiosity" is commendable, but the internet's problems run deeper than browser choice.
Structural issues around content quality, platform incentives and user behaviour require more than an AI assistant to resolve.
Comet may offer a genuinely improved browsing experience for certain users, but fixing the internet will require more fundamental changes than any single company can deliver.
