Perplexity’s Comet AI Browser: Early Impressions and Why Users Might Stick to Chrome

Perplexity, the prominent AI company, has recently launched its new web browser, Comet, aiming to integrate artificial intelligence seamlessly into the browsing experience. While designed with innovative AI features, early user impressions suggest that many may find themselves returning to traditional browsers like Google Chrome due to perceived redundancies and a preference for simplicity.

Comet boasts several noteworthy features, including a persistent AI assistant in the sidebar capable of summarizing articles, answering questions, conducting deep research, and even generating shopping lists from recipes. It also replaces the default search engine with Perplexity’s own AI-powered search, offers the ability to compare information across open tabs, and includes built-in ad-blocking and a privacy mode. These additions are designed to enhance productivity and information gathering directly within the browser.

However, the critique arises from the fact that many of these AI functionalities are already accessible through standalone AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Gemini, or even Perplexity’s own existing services, albeit requiring manual link pasting. Furthermore, Comet’s current availability is restricted to invite-only access or Perplexity’s expensive Max-tier subscribers, raising questions about its broad accessibility and potential feature limitations in a future free version.

Beyond the feature overlap and cost, some users find Comet’s interface cluttered and resource-intensive, consuming more RAM than traditional browsers. The preference for a minimalist, no-frills browsing experience often leads users back to simpler alternatives. While Comet is lauded for its aesthetic design and innovative AI integration, the core argument is whether these features truly necessitate a new browser or if they are better utilized as separate tools, leading many to conclude that the familiar simplicity of Chrome still holds sway.

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