What is comet browser by perplexity?

Comet is a new web browser developed by Perplexity AI, designed to integrate artificial intelligence directly into the Browse experience. Unlike traditional browsers that might add AI features as an afterthought (like Chrome with Gemini or Edge with Copilot), Comet is built from the ground up to be AI-native and "agentic."

Here's a breakdown of what that means and its key features:

• AI-First Design: Comet aims to transform Browse from a "search and browse" activity to a "think out loud and execute" one. It integrates Perplexity's powerful AI at its core, moving beyond simply providing search results to helping users achieve their goals.
• Comet Assistant: This is a central feature, an AI agent that resides in a sidebar and can understand and interact with the content of any active webpage. This allows users to:
  • Ask questions about YouTube videos, Google Docs, or articles without leaving the page.
  • Summarize content instantly.
  • Perform tasks like booking meetings, sending emails, or making purchases based on what's on the screen.
  • Analyze information across multiple open tabs to provide comprehensive answers.
• Contextual Awareness: Comet is designed to be context-aware, meaning it understands what you're doing and can offer relevant assistance. It aims to reduce the need for constant tab switching and copy-pasting.
• Workflow Automation: Beyond just answering questions, Comet can automate complex workflows, saving users time on mundane tasks.
• Built on Chromium: Comet is built on Google's open-source Chromium project, which means it should be compatible with most Chrome extensions and allow for easy migration of bookmarks and settings.
• Privacy Focus: Perplexity states that Comet prioritizes privacy with data stored locally and offers multiple tracking modes, including a "strict" option that processes sensitive tasks locally on your device. It also includes a native ad blocker.
• Perplexity Integration: As expected, it uses Perplexity's search engine as the default, providing AI-generated answers with sources instead of a traditional list of search results.

In essence, Comet by Perplexity AI aims to be more than just a browser; it's designed to be an intelligent thought partner that can understand, assist, and even perform actions on your behalf to streamline your online activities.