AI search startup Perplexity is making its new Comet browser available to everyone in the world for free. This move works to position the product against big browsers and search engines. For certain paid subscribers, the startup has also launched a new background assistant to handle multiple tasks via Comet.
Perplexity first launched Comet to subscribers of its two hundred dollar per month Max plan three months ago. Since then, millions have signed up on the waitlist to download the browser. Comet’s main feature is a sidecar assistant that joins you while you browse. It helps to answer any questions you may have about the webpage you are on, summarize content, manage web content, and navigate web pages on your behalf.
Perplexity’s move to make Comet free comes as the startup fights to compete against both incumbents like Google Chrome and newcomers like The Browser Company’s AI-powered browser Dia. It also comes ahead of OpenAI’s much-anticipated AI-powered browser launch. In the face of such competition, Perplexity will need to prove that Comet’s agentic capabilities work reliably. Without tangible productivity gains, people might be less inclined to switch from their existing browsers.
For free users, Perplexity’s Comet browser experience is still limited to the sidecar assistant. All users can also access different tools like Discover, which provides personalized news and content recommendations similar to OpenAI’s new Pulse. The Spaces tool helps organize and manage different projects. The Shopping tool assists in comparing prices and finding deals across online retailers. The Travel tool offers aggregated information on travel destinations, flights, and accommodation. The Finance tool provides features for budgeting, tracking expenses, and monitoring investments. The Sports tool delivers updates on scores, schedules, and news.
Max users get access to high-performing AI models and can access Perplexity’s email assistant. This assistant promises to draft replies and write responses that match your tone, organize and prioritize your inbox, schedule meetings, and answer questions about your inbox. Max users also get early access to Perplexity products and features, including a new background assistant that CEO Aravind Srinivas announced at an event Wednesday evening.
A company spokesperson described the assistant as a team of assistants working for you that you can manage and track from a central dashboard like a mission control. The assistant performs multiple tasks on your computer in the background while you do other work or walk away. In an example a spokesperson gave, you could instruct the assistant to send an email, add the cheapest concert tickets to your cart, and find the best direct flight on a specific date and time. You can check the progress of the task completion in the dashboard and jump in to complete the tasks, like hitting send on the email, intervening, or taking over. The assistant will notify you when it has finished its task.
The background assistant also has better connectors, so it can access other apps on your computer, according to the spokesperson. TechCrunch asked for more specifics about use cases and where the background assistant thrives.
Free Comet users can also purchase a five dollar per month standalone subscription to Comet Plus, a forthcoming product that aims to provide an AI-enhanced alternative to Apple News. Pro users, who pay twenty dollars per month for advanced AI models, image and video generation, and file upload and analysis, and Max users will get access to Comet Plus automatically.