Perplexity's Comet Browser Faces Launch Delay, Promises Unmatched AI Personalization
Perplexity's highly anticipated Comet browser is facing development delays as engineers tackle the challenges of creating AI that can effectively parse web pages, navigate sites, and intelligently interact with content, the company's CEO has revealed. The browser aims to leverage client-side data access to deliver personalization capabilities that would "surpass any other AI tool out there."
End of Miles reports that Comet will access data from users' logged-in tabs—even when they're not open—providing deeper context for AI responses than competing solutions.
Beyond search to "search everything"
Comet represents a significant evolution of Perplexity's strategy beyond its current search capabilities. The ambitious browser project will fundamentally alter how users interact with both search engines and AI assistants.
"An omnibox that blends navigational, informational and research-oriented searches—which we believe is the ultimate frontend for using AI for daily browsing," said Aravind Srinivas, explaining his vision. "Once this is there, you don't have to think when to use an AI or when to use a search engine anymore." Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity CEO
The Stanford-educated executive made these remarks during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session where he confirmed the browser is running "a couple of weeks behind" its original mid-April launch timeline. The team now plans to expand waitlist access in the next two weeks before a broader rollout.
From sidekick to sidecar
While most AI assistants exist as separate interfaces, Comet will integrate a "sidecar" feature that accompanies users across their browsing experience. This AI companion can be summoned to analyze the current page, extract information, or initiate deeper research.
"This way, Perplexity is no longer just a web search tool. It will search over everything. We will expand that to doing basic actions using that information." Srinivas
The AI company's chief noted that development challenges include training the specialized browser agent "that parses pages, does client-side browsing, scrolls/clicks on things" and determining what features are reliable enough for initial release versus what should wait for future iterations.
The privacy question
Perhaps most intriguing is how Comet plans to utilize user data. The browser will access not just browsing history, but also information from tabs where users are already logged in—potentially transforming how the AI understands user context and needs.
"Personalization & Agents: we will start with being able to answer questions based on your past browsing tabs, and client-side data that's available to us on tabs that are already logged-in (even if not open)." The Perplexity CEO
Srinivas also revealed the company is investing heavily in post-training for specialized browser agents, an area he described as "unique to us and matter more to us over time," suggesting Perplexity sees browser integration as a key competitive advantage over other AI assistants.
The browser will also offer ad-free browsing, addressing what the CEO described as an internet that is "cluttered too much." When released, Comet for Windows will be a native application rather than a web wrapper, unlike some of the company's other desktop implementations.
