Perplexity launched the Comet AI browser for desktop in July, initially offering access through a waitlist. By October, the waitlist was removed, making Comet available to anyone seeking a browsing experience with integrated Perplexity AI assistance. Around the same time, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas hinted at a Comet app for iPhone, though no release date was given. A month later, a leak revealed a first look at the Comet app for Android, which soon appeared in the Google Play Store for pre-registration. On Thursday, Perplexity officially launched the Comet AI browser for Android, allowing users to download the app.
According to a press release, millions now use Comet daily, which Perplexity calls the world’s “first truly AI-native browser.” The company highlighted that building an AI-first browser required careful adaptation for each operating system and device type, avoiding simply transplanting the desktop experience to mobile. The mobile version of Comet has been redesigned with Android as the starting point—an unusual choice, as most developers, including AI firms like OpenAI with their ChatGPT and Sora apps, typically prioritize iPhone users first. Perplexity’s focus on Android may stem from practical reasons, such as easier access to features like the phone’s microphone, enhancing voice chat capabilities with the Comet assistant.
What Comet for Android Offers
Comet provides instant access to an AI assistant ready to answer questions about the content users are viewing or other inquiries. The Comet Assistant is just a tap away within the AI browser, capable of answering questions and performing actions on the user’s behalf. Perplexity emphasizes the assistant’s expanded reasoning abilities, along with transparency, as it always shows the actions it takes, allowing users to intervene in its workflow anytime.
Popular features from the Perplexity app, like Voice Mode, are also included in Comet. Users can interact verbally with the AI about open tabs and ask for information. Additionally, the smart summarization feature condenses search results and information from multiple tabs, helping users extract key insights without manually navigating through content.
Comet for Android also comes with an advanced built-in ad blocker, which the company claims is the “industry’s most advanced” native tool to reduce online distractions. While this feature can enhance browsing, it seems somewhat contradictory considering CEO Srinivas’s earlier statements about wanting to gather detailed user data to serve personalized advertisements. The presence of an ad blocker could potentially conflict with these monetization strategies.
The Comet AI browser is available for free download on the Google Play Store for Android users. The release date for the iPhone version remains unknown.
