Perplexity Comet Goes Free on Windows and macOS with Agentic AI Browsing

Perplexity has opened the door: its AI‑first browser, Comet, is now available for free to everyone on Windows and macOS, a major distribution shift that turns an expensive, invite‑only experiment into a mass‑market download while keeping premium automation and publisher‑access features behind paid tiers.

Background / Overview​

Perplexity introduced Comet as a showcase for its citation‑first answer engine and agentic browsing ideas earlier in 2025, initially rolling the browser out to paying Max subscribers and a limited waitlist. The company framed Comet not as “just another browser” but as an environment where an integrated AI assistant can perform tasks on behalf of users: summarizing pages, synthesizing multiple tabs, and — in paid tiers — running multi‑step automations that interact with websites. The free release removes the $200/month barrier and seeks to broaden Comet’s installed base while monetizing through optional add‑ons and publisher partnerships.
This change matters for Windows and macOS users because browsers have become the primary surface for AI services. Making Comet free immediately increases the number of users sending Perplexity queries from desktop devices rather than web pages or mobile apps — a strategic move that can accelerate training signals, telemetry, and publisher negotiation leverage. Community threads and early coverage emphasize both opportunity and risk: distribution at scale, new publisher economics, legal exposure over content reuse, and the practical security surface introduced by agentic automation.

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What Comet is — the product in plain terms​

Comet is a Chromium‑based browser with an integrated Perplexity assistant and search engine by default. That means:

• It looks and feels like a modern Chromium browser: tabs, extensions (Chrome Web Store works), bookmarks, and familiar settings.
• The AI assistant is built into the browsing workflow: a sidecar/chat panel, a Summarize button, and agentic controls that can be set to act on pages automatically (with user permissions).
• Comet ships with a default ad blocker and a New Tab assistant interface that pushes Perplexity search and widgets.

Two independent reports confirm the core architecture and positioning: technology press coverage and Perplexity’s own product messaging both describe Comet as Chromium‑based and AI‑centric. This is important because it determines extension compatibility, sandboxing behavior, and the baseline security model users will face.

First‑run and UX notes (what users are seeing)​

Early hands‑on reports and forum observations highlight a few notable first‑run choices:

• A guided setup that can import history, bookmarks, passwords, and settings from the user’s default browser (option to skip).
• An animated startup experience with audio that some users find intrusive; sound controls are present in the UI.
• Aggressive prompts to sign in and to make Comet the default browser; telemetry, dock/startup pins, and default settings are enabled by default and recommended to be unchecked by privacy‑minded users.
• Every new tab surfaces the assistant and sign‑in nudges — a UX choice many early testers call “annoying.”

Those are user‑reported behaviors rather than platform guarantees; Perplexity may change defaults in follow‑on builds. Treat first‑run anecdotes as experiential signals, not immutable product claims.

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Agentic browsing: what “agentic” means and why Comet matters​

An agentic browser is one that goes beyond presenting content to acting on it — executing multi‑step tasks, filling forms, clicking buttons, and applying search results to workflows without constant, granular user input. Comet positions itself squarely in this camp: the assistant can search for deals, apply coupons to a shopping cart, or consolidate research across tabs, and in paid tiers it can automate sequences of actions.
Why the term matters:

• Agentic implies autonomy beyond single prompts; that raises new security and privacy trade‑offs.
• Agents increase convenience but also enlarge the attack surface: a malicious page could attempt to trick an agent into divulging credentials or executing harmful actions if permissioning and origin‑bound controls aren’t robust.
• Enterprises and security teams must treat agentic automation as an endpoint integration — similar to how background services and macros were handled in the pre‑AI era.

Independent coverage and community analysis stress that grounding answers with citations reduces hallucination risk, but grounding is not a panacea. The reliability of agentic workflows depends on retrieval quality, permission models, and how Perplexity routes content between local and cloud services.

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Comet Plus and the publisher revenue model — the economics​

Perplexity is not giving away every value proposition. Comet Plus is a paid add‑on intended to compensate publishers whose content is used by the assistant; it’s priced at roughly $5/month and is included in higher Perplexity plans (Pro/Max). The company says it will share the majority of Comet Plus revenue with participating publishers and seeded pools intended to incentivize signups — reporting indicates an initial revenue share figure in the ballpark of ~80% to publishers after small operational deductions. Major media outlets — including CNN, The Washington Post, Wired, Ars Technica, Fortune, and the Los Angeles Times — are either named as launch or early partners.
Two points worth noting:

• The subscription model attempts to square a commercial circle: AI agents can synthesize articles and reduce publisher pageviews; Comet Plus buys a form of access and revenue share to make that trade‑off acceptable.
• The 80% figure has been widely reported but teams negotiating revenue‑share agreements should treat early numbers as indicative and subject to legal and accounting nuance. Community analysis stresses that the model is pragmatic but not a silver bullet for the larger legal and copyright battles that AI aggregators face.

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Privacy, telemetry, and security: realistic concerns​

Comet’s convenience features — the assistant, background agents, calendar and email integrations, and cross‑tab context — bring several concrete risks for users and administrators:

• Data routing: Which parts of a user’s content are sent to Perplexity’s cloud models versus processed locally? The question matters for regulated data and corporate governance.
• Agent actions: Allowing an agent to click and fill forms introduces risks of prompt injection and unwanted side effects. Trusted origin checks, detailed permission dialogs, and action logs are essential mitigations.
• Default telemetry and startup behavior: On first run, Comet enables default options that might not suit privacy‑conscious users; reviewers recommend unchecking telemetry and default set options during setup.

Enterprise guidance (extracted from early Windows‑focused analysis) recommends:

• Treat Comet like any non‑standard browser: evaluate SSO compatibility, extension policies, EDR/AV signatures, and web content filtering.
• Pilot Comet in controlled environments before enabling agentic features broadly.
• Insist on contractual Data Processing Agreements and controls that prevent confidential content from being used to train external models without consent.

Flag: some claims about Comet’s internal data handling and local vs cloud processing are still evolving and partially proprietary. Where precise technical guarantees are required (e.g., on‑device processing of voice or agent steps), those must be verified against Perplexity’s published docs or security whitepapers.

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How Comet stacks up against other AI browser efforts​

Comet joins a now‑crowded field of AI‑centric browsers and AI‑enhanced incumbents:

• Google Chrome + Gemini: Chrome has an integrated assistant and AI features that tie into Google’s stack; Comet positions itself as an independent, answer‑grounded alternative.
• Microsoft Edge + Copilot: Edge integrates Copilot and deep Microsoft 365 features for enterprise users; it benefits from Microsoft’s enterprise controls.
• Arc / Dia (The Browser Company): Arc spawned Dia as an agentic successor; The Browser Company was acquired by Atlassian in a deal intended to reimagine the browser for work — a sign incumbents are consolidating agentic expertise into productivity platforms.
• Opera Neon: Opera’s Neon preview emphasizes local, privacy‑forward agent execution and subscription positioning, making the broader market more diverse in trade‑offs between convenience and privacy.

The category is now a triangle of trade‑offs: convenience vs privacy, free distribution vs paid controls, and publisher fairness vs aggregator economics. Comet leans strongly into Citations + Publisher Shares + Free Distribution as its positioning.

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Practical testing takeaways (what early testers are reporting)​

Early hands‑on notes and forum summaries provide practical, actionable signals for Windows/macos users:

• Comet’s ad blocker works out of the box for many blog and search ad types, but YouTube pre‑roll/in‑video ads may still appear until a dedicated solution or extension is added. Installing uBlock Origin or similar extensions from the Chrome Web Store improves results.
• The New Tab assistant is persistent and sign‑in prompts are frequent — an annoyance many testers flag. There is no documented setting yet to fully replace the New Tab experience; users report that third‑party new‑tab extensions are not a complete workaround. Consider exercising caution with automatic sign‑in nudges.
• Agentic automations can be impressively effective: testers report workflows such as coupon discovery and PDF export of consolidated shopping results working with minimal direction — but the feature also feels “scary” to privacy‑minded users. Always pause automations and review step logs before granting ongoing privileges.

These are experiential observations and will vary across versions and regions. Use them as practical heuristics rather than immutable judgments.

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For IT admins and security teams: an adoption checklist​

• Inventory: Add Comet to your approved/unapproved software list and track versions centrally.
• Policy: Update Acceptable Use Policies to specify allowed agentic features and data types.
• Permissions: Disable agentic auto‑actions on managed devices until tested in a pilot.
• DPA and contract: For enterprise deployments, secure contractual terms that prevent Perplexity from using corporate data for model training without consent.
• Monitoring: Ensure EDR and web filtering are configured to inspect or log Comet‑based traffic patterns and extension installs.

Adopting Comet in business environments without controls risks data exfiltration and compliance violations; pilot, verify, and document before deploying widely.

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The legal and commercial context: why Comet matters beyond UX​

Perplexity’s Comet launch and its subsequent $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome browser earlier in 2025 are not isolated PR stunts — they reflect strategic thinking about control of the browser surface and the economic mechanics of AI summarization. If browsers become the primary entry point for answer engines, ownership of that surface carries both competitive and regulatory weight. The Chrome bid was widely reported and framed as a move to offer courts and regulators an alternative buyer if antitrust remedies required a Chrome divestiture.
Comet Plus and publisher revenue sharing are Perplexity’s attempt to blunt legal criticism that AI summarization steals publisher traffic and reduces ad revenues. The company’s pledge to route subscription revenue to participating publishers — if executed transparently and at scale — could alter the economics of how AI agents access and summarize paywalled or ad‑supported content. That said, the model’s long‑term sustainability depends on publisher uptake, regulatory clarity, and whether advertisers and consumers accept the new flows.

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Strengths, weaknesses, and key risks — a concise assessment​

• Strengths:
• Citation‑first answers reduce hallucinations and improve provenance for research workflows.
• Agentic automations deliver real productivity wins (shopping, synthesis, multi‑page research).
• Free distribution removes friction and accelerates user acquisition.
• Weaknesses:
• Default UX choices (sign‑in nudges, telemetry settings) are too aggressive for privacy‑sensitive users.
• Ad blocking inconsistencies on media platforms require extension tweaks.
• Unclear enterprise guarantees for data governance and local processing in early releases.
• Key risks:
• Agentic attack surface — agents that can interact with pages raise new vectors for manipulation and exfiltration.
• Legal exposure — publishers and rights holders are actively litigating AI summarization and content reuse; Comet’s publisher revenue model is a pragmatic hedge but not a legal shield.
• Sustainability of free compute — A free browser with heavy AI use imposes costs; Comet Plus and paid tiers must convert at scale or risk throttling features.

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Practical recommendations for Windows and macOS users​

• If you’re curious: try Comet in a sandboxed profile without signing in and disable telemetry during setup.
• For daily drivers: keep your primary work in a browser with enterprise controls (Edge or managed Chrome) until Comet’s enterprise features and DPAs are clarified.
• For privacy: uncheck default “make default and run at startup” options and review permissions for the assistant and agent automations.
• For power users: install trusted content blockers (e.g., uBlock Origin) from the Chrome Web Store to improve media ad control.

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Conclusion​

Perplexity’s decision to make Comet free for Windows and macOS signals that the company is shifting from a boutique, high‑price experiment to a mass distribution strategy aimed at winning the browser’s attention economy. The product’s strengths — grounded answers, useful automations, and a publisher‑aware revenue model — are real and meaningful. At the same time, agentic features introduce novel security, privacy, and legal trade‑offs that organizations and cautious users must weigh carefully.
Comet’s arrival intensifies competition among AI‑enhanced browsers and forces a broader conversation about how the web’s economic and technical plumbing will adapt to assistants that act on our behalf. For Windows and macOS users, the sensible path is cautious experimentation: test in isolated profiles, lock down permissions, and treat agentic features as powerful tools that require explicit governance and measurement. The next few months will be revealing — both for Comet’s technical maturity and for whether publisher partnerships and subscription economics can meaningfully change the relationship between AI agents and the creators whose content powers them.

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Source: gHacks Technology News Perplexity releases Comet browser for free on Windows and macOS - gHacks Tech News

 

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Perplexity’s Comet browser is now available to everyone for free, opening what the company calls an AI-native approach to browsing on Windows and macOS and rolling agentic automation into the browser itself.

Background / Overview​

Perplexity first unveiled Comet on July 9, 2025 as an invite-only product bundled for Perplexity Max subscribers. The company opened Comet to a broader audience on October 2, 2025, removing the paid-only gate and making the core browser free to download and use on Windows and macOS; mobile clients are being developed for release in stages. The release follows months of limited testing, a high-demand waitlist (reported in the millions), and incremental feature rollouts that matured Comet from an experimental sidebar into a full-fledged AI workspace.
Comet is a Chromium-based browser that replaces much of the traditional tab-first mental model with a workspace-oriented UX and a persistent AI “sidecar” called Comet Assistant. The product is positioned not just as a search or browsing tool but as a productivity platform—one that aims to perform actions on behalf of users, summarize complex information, and maintain context across sessions.

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What Comet actually is — at a glance​

• AI-powered browser: Perplexity’s search and answer engine is baked into the browser experience, surfacing summarized answers rather than only search-result links.
• Chromium foundation: Comet is built on the Chromium open-source platform and supports standard Chromium/Chrome extension compatibility and import of bookmarks, settings, and extensions.
• Integrated assistant: A dedicated Comet Assistant lives alongside pages to answer questions, summarize, and take agentic actions (clicking, filling forms, navigating checkout flows).
• Workspace model: Comet organizes research and projects into Spaces or workspaces rather than an endless row of tabs; each space can have its own assistant context.
• Agentic features vs. passive browsing: The assistant can run multi-step workflows in the foreground or — for paying customers — in the background, with progress visible in a central dashboard.

These design choices mark a deliberate move away from passive content discovery toward delegated browsing, where a model can operate on behalf of the user.

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Deep dive — key features and tools​

Comet Assistant: the sidecar that never stops watching​

The Comet Assistant is the core differentiator. It reads the page you’re on, ingests context from open tabs, and answers natural-language queries. Tasks include:

• Summarizing articles and videos.
• Comparing products and summarizing reviews.
• Drafting context-aware emails and replies (premium).
• Initiating multi-step tasks like searching flights or adding items to carts.
• Acting on voice commands in supported builds.

Every new tab or workspace spawns its own assistant instance, enabling parallel threads of research and action without cross-contamination of context.

Workspace-first UX: Spaces, not tabs​

Comet’s workspace features are meant for structured research. Users can:

• Create Spaces for projects, which collect related threads, tabs, and files.
• Move between spaces to preserve context and reduce cognitive clutter.
• Save and restore sessions with reminders of ongoing work and quick session rehydration.

The workspace model mimics dedicated tools used by researchers and knowledge workers to avoid the “tab soup” problem.

Specialized tool modules​

Comet ships with modular assistants and curated tooling for vertical tasks:

• Discover — personalized content and news recommendations.
• Shopping — structured product comparisons and price tracking.
• Travel — aggregated travel research and itinerary building.
• Finance and Sports modules — concise, context-aware updates.

Some of these are available to all users; others or more advanced capabilities are gated behind subscription tiers.

Agentic automation and the Background Assistant​

One of the biggest shifts is Comet’s agentic automation. For Max subscribers, Perplexity offers a Background Assistant that can execute simultaneous tasks in the background: e.g., draft emails, monitor ticket prices, and maintain shopping carts, with notifications and a mission-control dashboard to supervise or intervene.
This agentic behavior is powerful but introduces new attack surfaces and trust questions; it’s also typically a premium capability.

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Pricing and tiers — what’s free and what’s paid​

Perplexity has restructured access while keeping differentiated paid tiers:

• Free (general availability): Comet browser, Comet Assistant (sidebar), Spaces, Discover, Shopping, core vertical modules; usage limits and rate limiting are applied.
• Comet Plus — standalone ($5/month): A news-focused subscription that bundles curated content and supports publisher revenue sharing.
• Pro ($20/month): Advanced AI models, image/video generation, larger file uploads, and multi-model access.
• Max ($200/month): Highest-performance models, early access to features, the Email Assistant, and the Background Assistant.

These price points and feature splits reflect a freemium strategy: broadly distribute the AI browser while monetizing advanced agentic capabilities and premium models for power users and enterprises.

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User experience — what using Comet feels like​

The first encounter with Comet feels familiar and unfamiliar at once. The Chromium backbone preserves performance characteristics and extension compatibility, lowering migration friction from Chrome or Edge. The visible difference is the persistent assistant and the workspace UI:

• The assistant is accessible inline; it can accept follow-ups that are context-aware of the current page and open tabs.
• New tabs often open with a search/assistant pane already active—this emphasizes Q&A and synthesis instead of link lists.
• Workspace tools reduce tab clutter by saving and snapshotting sessions; the browser offers restore prompts with reminders of unfinished tasks.

Performance and responsiveness vary. The AI processes and agentic behaviors increase memory and CPU usage compared with vanilla Chromium builds. Early adopters report occasional lag while assistants actively operate, especially when multiple agents run concurrently.

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Security, privacy, and safety analysis​

Comet’s architecture and functionality introduce critical privacy and security trade-offs.

• Data collection and telemetry: Deeply integrated assistants rely on context (open tabs, page content, browsing signals). By design, that generates rich telemetry that can improve models and product features. Users must evaluate what is shared with Perplexity, what remains local, and what is used for model training. Defaults and opt-outs matter; enterprise and pro plans often include clearer data-use controls.
• Third-party extensions: Being Chromium-based means Comet inherits the extension ecosystem — positive for functionality but also opens known extension-based attack vectors (malicious or overly-permissive extensions).
• Agentic automation risk: Allowing an assistant to click, fill forms, or interact with external sites raises several concerns:
• Unintended transactions if prompts are ambiguous or a model hallucinates.
• Credential exposure if connectors or integrations are misconfigured.
• Cross-site action chains that could be abused by compromised agents or phishing sites.
• Model hallucinations and factual errors: The assistant synthesizes and acts on internet content. When answers or actions require high accuracy (financial decisions, travel bookings, legal/medical content), hallucination risk can carry real cost.
• Privilege creep and connectors: Background assistants with “better connectors” can interface with local apps and inboxes — powerful but sensitive. Proper permissions, sandboxing, and transparent logs are essential.

Security-conscious users and organizations should scrutinize privacy settings, require least-privilege connectors, and limit agentic automation for critical flows until the behavior is well-understood and auditable.

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Performance and system impact​

AI-native browsing isn’t free in terms of resources. Key observations:

• Running multiple assistant instances increases CPU and memory consumption compared to standard Chromium builds.
• Background tasks, long-running connectors, and multi-agent workflows multiply resource usage and may exacerbate battery drain on laptops.
• Extension compatibility is generally good, but some extensions that rely on low-level browser hooks or expect standard tab behavior may be unreliable in workspace modes.

Users with large multi-tab workflows will want to test Comet on their hardware. For power users on Windows laptops or Macs with limited memory, Comet’s productivity gains must be weighed against its heavier resource footprint.

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Where Comet fits in the AI browser landscape​

Comet is a serious entrant in the AI-browser category, joining efforts by major incumbents and smaller challengers. What sets Comet apart:

• Agentic emphasis: Comet focuses on executing tasks, not only giving answers. That is the central product differentiation.
• Workspace model: While other browsers experiment with assistant sidebars, Comet moves toward a structured project workspace rather than a tab bar.
• Chromium compatibility: Extension support lowers adoption friction and preserves user workflows.

However, headwinds remain. Dominant browsers still own mindshare and default placements (OS-level defaults, OEM preloads). Comet’s path to broad adoption depends on convincing users the assistant reliably produces time savings without introducing new risks.

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Practical use cases — where Comet can deliver real value​

• Knowledge workers and researchers: Summaries, synthesizing multiple sources, and session snapshots accelerate literature reviews, reporting, and due diligence.
• E-commerce and shopping: Automated product comparisons, tracked price drops, and saved shopping carts help bargain hunting.
• Meeting prep and email triage: For those who opt into premium features, the Email Assistant can draft context-aware replies and summarize inbox threads—useful for heavy communicators.
• Project management: Spaces with shared context make handoffs and collaboration cleaner across small teams that need a single place for web-based research.

Timed correctly, Comet reduces context-switching and gives knowledge workers a compact, action-focused workflow.

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Risks and limitations — what to watch for​

• Hallucinations and unsafe actions
  Agentic models can generate plausible but incorrect instructions. Comet’s ability to act on the web makes hallucinations costlier than in a passive chat.
• Privacy and data residency
  Comet ingests page content and session context. Organizations must ensure compliance with internal data policies and external regulations when using connectors.
• Security complexities with connectors and extensions
  Grants that allow a browser assistant to access email, calendar, or enterprise apps require robust authentication controls and auditing.
• Usability gaps for non–power users
  The workspace model is powerful but represents a conceptual shift. Casual users may find it unfamiliar or overbearing.
• Resource and battery consumption
  AI features come with a heavier system footprint, which may be a non-starter on underpowered hardware or mobile devices.
• Monetization and gated features
  Critical productivity features (background agents, email auto-drafting) are tiered behind expensive subscriptions. That can create a two-tier experience where only paying customers get full automation.

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Advice for Windows and macOS users considering Comet​

• Trial the free Comet release to evaluate whether the assistant genuinely saves time on your regular tasks.
• Review privacy and training settings immediately after installing; opt out of model training if that’s important.
• Limit background connectors and grant only necessary permissions; prefer manual interaction for critical transactions until trust is established.
• Keep essential browser extensions active but audit them for permissions and compatibility.
• Test on a secondary profile or device first if you rely on complex extensions or enterprise SSO logins.

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Comet vs. the competition — where Comet leads and where incumbent browsers hold sway​

• Comet leads in agentic capability and workspace-first design; it is purpose-built to automate and synthesize.
• Incumbent browsers (Chromium-based Chrome, Edge) retain superior integration with platform-level services and entrenched defaults; Microsoft’s Edge offers its own Copilot-like assistant that is tightly integrated with the OS and Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
• Browser companies that focus on minimalism or privacy have differing trade-offs: Comet’s strengths are action and synthesis rather than minimal telemetry.

The realistic short-term landscape is one of coexistence: Comet will attract heavy knowledge workers and AI-first users; mainstream defaults will remain sticky without OEM deals or deeper ecosystem hooks.

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Corporate and developer implications​

• Enterprises should evaluate Comet for research teams and R&D groups where agentic automation can reduce manual work; however, rollout should follow a staged security review and pilot program.
• Developers can build extensions and connectors for Comet’s Chromium base, but must test workspace behavior and multi-assistant interaction patterns.
• Product managers and security teams must consider audit logs, permission models, and incident response for agent-initiated actions.

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Final verdict — who should try Comet and why it matters​

Comet is the most fully realized attempt so far to turn a web browser into an AI-native workspace. For researchers, analysts, and power users who live in the browser and perform repetitive multi-step tasks, Comet’s assistant-driven workflows can yield meaningful productivity gains. The free general availability on Windows and macOS makes it easy to experiment with.
At the same time, the technology is not mature in the sense of risk-free deployment. Hallucinations, permissions creep, and system resource impact are real concerns. The background agent and email automation are compelling but should be used cautiously until organizations and users confirm predictable, auditable behavior.
Comet’s launch matters because it accelerates the shift from browsers as passive windows to the web into browsers as playbooks that perform work on users’ behalf. That is a foundational change—one that will force product teams, privacy advocates, and IT departments to rethink assumptions about browser security, defaults, and the very ownership of the browsing experience.

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Comet’s arrival opens a new chapter in the browser wars: not for browser market share alone, but for control over how people get work done online. Its success will hinge on delivering reliable automation without compromising safety, privacy, or predictable behavior—an engineering and policy challenge as much as a UX one.

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Source: BizzBuzz Meet Comet: The Free AI Browser Everyone’s Been Waiting to Try