I’m testing Perplexity’s new AI browser Comet. Listed below are 3 options I attempted straight away.

What makes an AI browser higher than an everyday browser? With Perplexity’s Comet, that is what I am looking for out.

Final week, AI search engine firm Perplexity launched its extremely anticipated browser, which makes use of the Perplexity search engine and comes with a built-in AI assistant. As AI fashions change into extra superior with chain-of-thought reasoning for dealing with advanced duties, they’re able to extra agentic, or autonomous, work. This can be a pure match for net browsers, that are primarily the gateway to our on-line lives. An AI net browser like Comet can theoretically do way more than a chatbot tied to a single web page or app, enabling actions throughout a number of tabs and platforms.

Perplexity’s Comet browser is an early entry, alongside Arc’s Dia browser, that seeks to create a brand new paradigm for searching and procuring with AI. (OpenAI can be reportedly about to launch its personal AI browser). The power to automate and summarize our expertise on-line has change into a significant focus for the AI business, because it presents the ostensible goal of rushing up duties and easing our cognitive load.

And the timing for introducing a brand new browser to compete with Google Chrome and Apple Safari couldn’t be higher. Google is perhaps compelled to promote Chrome after an enormous antitrust loss. The ruling additionally impacts Apple, which acquired $20 billion a 12 months to make Google the default search engine for Safari. Apple already appears to be making adjustments to its search choices, together with a possible partnership with Perplexity. That’s all to say there’s all of a sudden much more alternative for newcomers like Perplexity to shake up the market.

Considerably paradoxically, Comet runs on Chromium, Google’s open-source browser service. So after I acquired entry, switching over my extensions and settings was fairly seamless. With all the things transferred and arrange, I dug in to see what Comet can do. I ought to be aware that I do have some severe privateness issues, which I am going to discover in a follow-up article

Listed below are the primary Comet options I attempted out.

Agentic grocery procuring and pizza ordering

Perplexity touts making an Instacart grocery checklist as one of many foremost use circumstances for Comet’s AI assistant. The search engine already presents the potential to purchase merchandise listed as search outcomes inside the chatbot with a Perplexity Professional account. However procuring with Comet is completely different because it truly finds the merchandise and provides them to your cart.

To problem Comet, I attempted to think about one thing with a tedious number of objects. I tasked Comet with making a procuring checklist for the long-lasting charcuterie board. That half was straightforward, since there isn’t any scarcity of articles in regards to the clever association of meats and cheeses. Subsequent, I requested Comet so as to add the objects to my Instacart account. Notably, I needed to be logged into Instacart, however I did not should have the tab open.

Throughout the chat, I watched because the AI assistant shopped in real-time for the objects on my checklist. It even reveals a mini display screen of what it is doing on the web page, and in the event you click on over to the Steps tab, you possibly can watch as Perplexity causes its manner via the grocery retailer (ShopRite) web site through Instacart. I did not embrace any particular directions on specific manufacturers or specs reminiscent of natural or native objects, and I seen that Perplexity defaulted to selecting the least costly or bestselling merchandise based on ShopRite.

That is most likely a protected wager, however the inside cheese snob in me did not just like the AI assistant making these decisions on my behalf. I’d’ve most well-liked to obsessively examine varied cheese manufacturers. For a busy guardian in a rush, although, this might work fairly effectively. The method took about 5 minutes so as to add round 20 objects to my cart. When it was accomplished, I clicked to open the Instacart window and located all my objects ready for me. For privateness and safety causes, my AI assistant knowledgeable me it would not full the acquisition, so that you’d have to do this your self (for now).

How did Comet do with my favourite pastime of ordering pizza? I assumed this might be a a lot easier process, but it surely struggled a bit. I’ve a gluten intolerance, so I requested it to order a gluten-free cheese pizza on Seamless from considered one of my favourite native spots. This is the place it ran right into a roadblock.

Comet could not discover the gluten-free pizza choice so it added the request within the particular directions field (superb) but it surely additionally mentioned so as to add additional cheese, which I did not ask for (huh?)
Credit score: Screenshot: Mashable / Perplexity

I do know from numerous expertise that this specific restaurant lists the gluten-free choice inside its toppings choice as an alternative of as a separate crust choice. Regardless of spending a number of minutes scouring the positioning, Comet could not discover the gluten-free choice. As a substitute, it added an everyday cheese pizza to the cart and included a be aware asking it to be gluten-free within the particular directions field. It additionally inexplicably requested additional cheese, although I did not ask for that. At this level, it might’ve been manner simpler to order the pizza myself.

Summarizing my X feed, YouTube movies, and extra

A preferred use case for generative AI in browsers is the power to summarize the contents of a webpage or doc. Varied types of this exist already with a Google Chrome extension and in Microsoft’s Edge browser, however Perplexity’s model feels a bit of extra built-in into the expertise. That is as a result of AI assistant sidecar that you may open or shut from the highest right-hand nook of the browser.

I discovered it notably helpful for tackling the onerous process of summarizing my X feed, however was annoyed that it did not hyperlink to the sources of every put up. Identical goes for summarizing prolonged pages. I wished the power to leap to particular sections of the web page, however discovered myself having to learn the web page anyway simply to seek out what Comet was summarizing.

Because it was a selected use case Perplexity promoted, I attempted utilizing Comet to summarize YouTube movies. As is the case with most AI-generated summaries, it felt like Comet struggled to spotlight and prioritize essentially the most salient info, as an alternative giving equal quantities of rationalization to info of various significance, and glazing over among the extra noteworthy moments.

Once I requested Comet to summarize a current stay episode of the Exhausting Fork podcast, the one the place OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and COO Brad Lightcap shocked the hosts by making a dramatic early entrance, Comet did not say something about that. It additionally summarized too broadly at instances.

Comet’s abstract of the stay ‘Exhausting Fork’ podcast was ample, however lacked any of the juicy particulars.
Credit score: Screenshot: Mashable / Perplexity

As a substitute of highlighting particular jabs — Lightcap and Altman have been requested if Mark Zuckerberg truly believes in superintelligence, and Lightcap mentioned, “I think [Zuckerberg] believes he’s super intelligent” — Comet watered down this interplay by describing it as “humorous commentary about Zuckerberg’s approach.”

Automated tab organizing

Certainly one of my favourite options on Chrome is the power to group the numerous, many tabs I’ve open. However this requires manually organizing tabs one-by-one. There are Chrome extensions that may mechanically group tabs for you, however Comet has this perform inbuilt.

In a brand new Comet tab, I requested the assistant to group my open tabs by matter and watched in awe as they have been thematically organized. It did go a bit of overboard by including matter labels to particular person tabs that did not match into another matter, like my calendar, which ended up creating extra visible litter, but it surely’s straightforward to ungroup as wanted.

Comet may entry info from tabs of pages you are not actively taking a look at, which is helpful for evaluating merchandise or discovering a fast reference to one thing.

Is Perplexity Comet price it?

Comet is rolling out to customers on a waitlist and for Perplexity Professional subscribers who pay $200 a month. To date, it has been a little bit of a blended bag. I may see myself utilizing sure options, whereas others take extra time than they’re price. Both they do not completely work, or I spend so lengthy double-checking Comet’s outcomes that I truly find yourself dropping time. And I nonetheless have some privateness issues, however that is a wholly separate article (and coming quickly, I promise).

To date, I am undecided.