ChatGPT’s conversational AI model was released in November 2022. In May 2024, Google started rolling out its AI Overviews. These two events changed user behavior forever. Publishers saw web traffic starting to drop, prompting conversations about the future of search.
It was only a matter of time before the tech giants started releasing new browsers, not only in an attempt to topple Google’s dominance, but to bring conversational AI into the forefront while preserving traditional means of search.
Thus, came Perplexity’s Comet browser. The first in what will inevitably be a series of AI-first browsers.
It’s equipped with a personalized assistant designed to make web browsing a more automated and AI-collaborative experience in which you can automate tasks, streamline workflows, and complete projects. I decided to take it for a test drive.
The Comet elevator pitch
To start, I asked the Comet Browser to give me it’s elevator pitch. That pitch is below:
“Comet is the first AI-native browser designed to amplify intelligence on the web, turning browsing into thinking—ask questions, automate tasks, and streamline workflow all in one intelligent, personalized interface.”
As promised, the browser leads with the results from the AI Assistant. There are links at the top of the page that allow you to review the sources for that information and the steps that the AI assistant took while generating a response, which also contains a number of links.
As someone who has spent a lot of time reviewing web traffic declines since the rise of Google’s AI Overviews, this seems like a much more comprehensive approach that maximizes exposure to traditional web content, while giving the user the freedom to take the quick, AI generated response instead.
Promo video glitch
I asked it to find a good promo video for Comet that I could include in this post. It found 10 and recommended three key videos that were most comprehensive, which I thought was cool. However, when I tried to share it, it launched an un-collapsible blank window that locked up my computer. Clearly, some of these features aren’t ready for prime time.
I finally ended up going to Chrome just to get the link from this post:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeldJ4UezDQ
According to the video, it can do all of the following, which again looked and sounded super helpful.
- Find emails from teammates, draft messages and schedule meetings that work for both of your calendars.
- Give it a recipe, and it will grocery shop for the ingredients online for you.
- Summarize web pages for you to save reading time.
- Help with trip planning. It will map a course to tourist destinations in a city you’re visiting via Google Maps.
- Take verbal instructions for browsing.
- Check your Amazon account for your last purchase and buy it again.
- Compare a list of products for you.
Email and calendar assistants are useful, if you’re interested.
As I mentioned, if you give Comet access to your Gmail account, it’ll schedule appointments that work for both you and your meeting attendees. It’ll also create auto drafts of emails. While I definitely get how these tools could increase productivity, I didn’t take advantage of them. It’s not that I didn’t think it’d be helpful. It’s because I believe some things shouldn’t be automated.
Call me old-fashioned, but my meetings and emails are still things I want in my full control. That said, it’s a nice feature if you’re looking to optimize that portion of your workload.
Comet really wants to be your default browser
Comet is a little pushy about making itself your default browser. I didn’t make it my default because I was testing it. Every tab I opened to try a new function contained a button to make it my default for a ‘more powerful’ assistant. I get the ‘why’ behind it, but to me it was still a little much. Perhaps if I had, some of the features I had challenges with would have resolved themselves.
Research, Discover and Spaces sections
I tried the Research feature, which was fun to watch. I asked it what the safest family vehicle I could buy was, and it browsed roughly 50 sites live in three minutes and summarized the results of each, sorting them by model.
The Discover section is basically a newsfeed equipped with articles, local weather and current market information. It says “For You,” which indicates a personalized experience but I’m not sure what the basis of that is.
I was intrigued by the Spaces area, which I assumed it was a space dedicated to research on a specific topic, work, etc. I named it, gave a description and asked it for helpful links. It provided me a list of links I use frequently already, and nothing specifically related to AI. I checked out the templates, and I think my assumption was correct, but I think this area needs work.
Perplexity Labs sounds great, but is it?
Perplexity Labs sounds interesting. Students and educators can get a free trial, everyone else has to sign on to a plan ranging from $20 to $350 per month. Allegedly, it can create reports, perform deep research, and complete projects.
According to the description page, it’s like having a team that can bring any project to life. I didn’t buy a plan to try it out but might revisit this later. Personally, I’d recommend they offer a free trial of this section to everyone. If it lives up to the hype, maybe more people would make Comet their default browser and pay for access.
More info about Perplexity Labs is below.
https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-perplexity-labs
Conclusions
What impressed me most about Comet was how it gives the user the freedom to sort whether they want to take the AI-generated response to a query, go directly to the sources of that content, or go even deeper with its research features.
That said, some of the features still need work. Comet will only get better in time, and I’ll keep checking back to review the improvements.
In the end, I’ve decided to stick with Chrome for now. Over time, AI-powered browsers will only get more powerful and more useful, but I’m going to keep my browsing behavior the same for the time being.
Interestingly, while I was reviewing Comet and writing this article, OpenAI released its new ChatGPT Atlas browser. I can’t wait to dig into that one next. Stay tuned!
