Perplexity to launch an AI browser Comet rivalling Google Chrome

AI start-up Perplexity is building an agentic browser that could possibly disrupt Google’s search dominance. Other than calling the browser Comet, CEO Aravind Srinivas did not share any specific details about the browser.

In a LinkedIn post, Mr. Srinivas invited users to sign up for the waitlist, noting, “This is a pretty serious engineering undertaking. Please join us to help build the future of Internet browsing with AIs doing deep research and tasks for us!”

At this point, there isn’t much information on how the browser will work and how it will search the web. In a way, the startup’s chatbot already works like a browser that searches for information across the web. But it provides this service through a chat interface.

Google dominates the browser market, and even Big Tech firms have tried with little success to gain a respectable share in the market. Microsoft attempted clawing back some share in the market with its Bing browser, but it has not even made a dent in Google’s share.

It will be interesting to watch how Perplexity’s Comet might rival Google’s Chrome browser and, in a way, alter the SEO/SEM market. If the startup tastes early success with wider adoption, it could well be the starting point for a shift in browser market dynamics.