Still switching between dozens of tabs to "find flights, compare prices, and reply to emails"? Perplexity aims to free people's mouse hands. On October 3rd, this AI unicorn known for its "question-and-answer search" announced that Comet Browser, originally available only to Max users at $200/month, is now completely free and available worldwide! As soon as the news broke, millions of users on the waiting list rushed to the official website, causing the download channel to crash with a 429 error.

Comet's core selling point is the "side panel add-on." Unlike traditional browsers that just sit in the background, it becomes a personal assistant: What's the key information on the current webpage? One click to summarize. Want to buy an item on the page? It automatically compares prices across the web. Planning a weekend trip? It directly provides flight + hotel combinations. In official terms, Comet makes "every click come with an AI add-on."

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However, the free version is just the "basic add-on." Perplexity's real secret weapon lies in the "Background Assistant" of the Max plan. CEO Aravind Srinivas demonstrated the new "Background Assistant" during a live stream on Wednesday night. With a single sentence like, "Book the cheapest direct flight to LA on Friday, email the agenda to the team, and add the concert ticket to the shopping cart," the AI can work silently in the background. You can get up to make tea, and when you return, you can glance at the "Mission Control" panel—task progress bars, logs, and pending items are clearly visible, waiting for your one-click "approval." The company emphasized that the assistant has been granted local app permissions through the "Better Connector," theoretically supporting cross-app operations, but how far it can go depends on the openness of macOS/Windows.

Facing the monopoly of Google Chrome and the encirclement from new browsers like Dia, Perplexity clearly wants to "win by speed": first attract users with free access, then lock them in with premium features. In addition to the "Background Agent" for Max users, the company also offers Comet Plus at $5/month as an Apple News alternative, providing personalized news feeds for free users; Pro (over $20/month) users get it for free. Industry insiders commented: When browsers evolve from "viewing web pages" to "doing tasks for you," whoever controls the AI agent will control the next traffic entrance. Perplexity first brought down a $200 product to zero cost, which seems like a loss, but actually shifts the "switching cost" to competitors: try it out first, after all, it's free—can Chrome dare to respond?

Key points:

✨ Comet Browser, once $200/month, is now available globally for free. The side panel AI instantly summarizes, compares prices, and plans trips, causing download volume to surge instantly.

🎭 The exclusive "Background Assistant" for Max users is now available. It can handle booking flights, sending emails, and adding concert tickets in the background, with a progress panel showing real-time control.

💰 Browser competition escalates again: Comet Plus at $5/month targets Apple News, and Pro users get it for free. Perplexity uses "zero barriers" to attract users, forcing Chrome to respond.