Comet is an AI-powered web browser launched by AI company Perplexity in July 2025. Built on Google Chrome's Chromium engine, Comet features Perplexity's proprietary GPT-based AI built into the browser. Users can utilize the Perplexity AI search engine by default, without any additional settings, to receive real-time summaries, commentary, and recommendations for relevant information when entering search terms.
Comet's goal is to "quickly explore the universe of knowledge." It's designed to help users focus on essential thoughts and tasks by summarizing, organizing, and executing all information within the browser, with conversational AI, without having to switch between multiple apps. It will be available globally free of charge starting in October 2025.
Comet sensually embodies Perplexity's core message, "Stay Curious." The logo and symbol visually convey the concept of "exploring the universe of knowledge" with their streamlined trajectory and curved forms reminiscent of a comet's tail. The app icon is sculpturally balanced, and its linear form maintains consistency with the existing Perplexity logo.
In particular, the smooth motion that expresses the comet's movements enhances visual immersion, and even in stillness, a natural flow is felt. While comets are typically depicted descending diagonally, Comet emphasizes positive, dynamic energy with its curved, ascending form.
The colors are centered around a cosmic, futuristic palette of metallic blue, deep green, and white, with bright, representative colors standing out against a dark background. The UI is centered around green tones, differentiating it from other AI engine services.
The overall graphic design is based on the concept of "space exploration," and actively utilizes a retro VHS filter to create a visual sensibility where past and future coexist. The combination of a texture reminiscent of ink on paper, a classic serif typeface, and slightly slanted letters creates a retro yet futuristic feel, evoking the emotions and curiosity of a bygone era of space exploration.
Overall, Comet offers "an experience unlike any other AI service" through its refined aesthetic. While abstract icons are frequently used, it maintains a detailed aesthetic and consistent direction, visually completing Perplexity's unique values and philosophy.
Visually, Comet maintains a consistent impression with its subtle green tones and angular icons, derived from the brand's Perplexity logo. However, the use of multiple visual effects to distinguish elements can create a somewhat cognitive load. The background of the right sidebar assistant features a subtle geometric pattern, a variation of the Perplexity logo, creating a sophisticated atmosphere reminiscent of a high-end café or salon.
The core feature is Comet Assistant. It provides direct access to Perplexity's AI capabilities through a sidebar panel, offering a UX that feels like sharing Chrome and Perplexity on a single screen. The AI automatically summarizes the webpage the user is viewing (news, blogs, papers, etc.), allowing them to quickly grasp the core content and recommending additional related information.
It also features context-aware support, allowing it to compare and organize information across multiple tabs simultaneously and analyze diverse web data and sources to provide the most relevant results. Complex commands like "Plan a travel itinerary" or "Summarize a paper" are automatically processed by AI step-by-step. It can even automate actual operations like clicking buttons or filling out forms on web pages. Everything from email summarization and composition, Google Calendar-integrated schedule management, tab organization, and web automation tasks are all command-based.
The left side displays a website, while the right side displays AI analysis of the webpage and a visual representation of the process. Users can also capture portions of the website to request more detailed information. This UI is particularly useful in complex, information-intensive web environments, such as YouTube video summaries or PDF analysis.
The split-view structure can make users feel like they're analyzing only one web page. While it understands the context of multiple tabs to perform a comprehensive analysis, it doesn't treat all tabs as a single, macroscopic structure, requiring users to manually select sources, which is cumbersome. However, this manual selection process is actually useful when leveraging AI to focus on reliable, established sources. This is ideal when more reliable information is needed, unlike methods like Perplexity or ChatGPT that gather information from the entire internet.
Comet's brand design is impressive, establishing a distinct presence as an AI service. It stands out as a browser designed for analyzing trustworthy web sources and a user experience that allows users to directly verify reliable information. However, this is still a relatively new usage pattern.
Websites are inherently meant to be "used," but Comet treats them as "objects of analysis," with AI performing the analysis in the right panel. This structure feels somewhat unfamiliar with the traditional web browsing experience. It's natural to wonder, "How is this better than just using Perplexity?" Perplexity's strength lies in its ability to automatically gather and summarize information from across the internet.
Focusing on a specific website requires a truly extensive collection of information, which is limited. For PDFs and documents, analyzing them directly through a native app may be more efficient. Therefore, while Comet's design is highly polished, the question remains as to whether its core product experience is immediately essential.
Nevertheless, Perplexity has consistently prioritized "information trust" as a core brand value. While ChatGPT recently introduced the ability to launch apps directly, the internet remains rife with misinformation. Comet, in this regard, enhances trust by allowing users to transparently see the AI's process for reaching its conclusions while visually examining the actual website.
Going forward, Perplexity and Comet are likely to focus on ensuring the reliability of AI information. It will still be some time before we can truly trust AI-generated information. While OpenAI aims to create AI that thinks like humans, humans themselves are not perfect. Comet, on the other hand, appears to be a service that can find opportunities within this "gap of imperfection."
