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Perplexity launches Comet AI browser in India but there's a proviso, for now

Perplexity’s Comet AI browser combines a traditional Chromium-based browsing experience with an always-on AI sidebar that the company describes as “agentic”.

Updated on: Sep 24, 2025 10:44 AM IST
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Perplexity AI is rolling out its Comet browser in India to tap into the world’s largest internet population outside of China. It’s only for paying users, though.

Comet is being built on Chromium, the open-source skeleton that also powers Chrome and Microsoft Edge. (Perplexity)
Comet is being built on Chromium, the open-source skeleton that also powers Chrome and Microsoft Edge. (Perplexity)

The AI-first browser—which can shop on your behalf, schedule meetings and summarise research—is available immediately to Perplexity Pro subscribers on Windows and macOS. It’s available for pre-order on Android devices and iOS support is expected later.

Aravind Srinivas—the co-founder, president and chief executive of Perplexity AI—announced the launch in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

The Comet AI browser is a shift from “browsing to thinking”, he had told Hindustan Times previously, positioning the product as a thinking partner rather than a passive tool.

What Is Comet AI Browser

Comet combines a traditional chromium-based browsing experience with an always-on AI sidebar that Perplexity describes as “agentic”. It can follow multi-step workflows across tabs, compare prices and reviews, draft and send emails, book meetings, and complete transactions on the user’s behalf when authorised.

Perplexity says the aim is to reduce tab clutter and let the browser carry forward a context of tasks and projects rather than isolated pages.

The launch of the Comet AI browser is an early and aggressive push by Perplexity into a country that houses the world’s largest internet population outside of China. The company has struck a deal with Bharti Airtel Ltd. that gives millions of Airtel customers complimentary access to Perplexity Pro for a year. The company is also looking to hire in India, signalling an intent to expand locally.

ALSO READ | Perplexity Proposes Revenue-Sharing Model To Publishers In Comet AI Browser

Perplexity’s India move is pragmatic: the country offers a huge and digitally savvy user base at a stage when broader markets are still testing Agentic AI in everyday workflows. Still, questions remain about how regulators and publishers will react to a browser that scrapes, summarises and acts across the open web—and whether incumbents such as Google and Microsoft will respond by integrating similar assistive features into their browsers.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tushar Deep Singh

Tushar Deep Singh is a business journalist and digital editorial leader with 12 years of experience in financial journalism. Currently Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, he is building the HT Business vertical and managing the newsletters for both Livemint and HT. When not in the newsroom, he can be found on a motorcycle. Throughout his career, Tushar has been instrumental in scaling digital publishing operations at some of India’s largest financial news websites. His six-year tenure at Mint—the first job—saw him plunge into online media to deliver record-breaking digital engagement for Livemint.com, including 7.2 million page views on 2017 UP Election Results day. He held fort at Livemint during a senior-level leadership transition later that year. That won him the HT Media Star Award (Bronze) in 2017 and a Certificate of Appreciation for Editorial Excellence in 2018. As the head of the digital desk at ETtech, he curated two daily, full-stack newsletters from an editorial as well as product perspective. At NDTV Profit, he transitioned from website editor to principal correspondent, reporting on the auto sector for the TV channel and website, thereby adding yet another layer to his editorial expertise. He is a post-graduate in journalism from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, and a graduate from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad.

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