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