Perplexity’s Comet AI Browser Lands on Android

Perplexity brings its AI-native Comet Browser to Android

Android users who rely on their phones for almost everything now have a very different kind of browser to explore: Perplexity’s Comet Browser. Available to download from the Google Play Store, Comet is built from the ground up around artificial intelligence instead of treating AI as an optional extra. The result is a browser that behaves less like a passive window to the web and more like an intelligent assistant that rides alongside you on every page you open.

At the heart of the experience is the Comet Assistant, a conversational AI that understands the context of what you are viewing. Reading a long magazine feature, a detailed research paper, or a dense policy document on your phone? You can tap the assistant or use your voice and ask it to summarize the piece, surface the main arguments, or turn complex passages into plain language. Rather than endlessly scrolling or saving articles “for later” and never returning, Comet helps you digest information in minutes and stay focused on what actually matters.

AI-first design instead of AI as an afterthought

Most popular mobile browsers, including Chrome and Edge, bolt AI tools onto an interface designed in the pre-chatbot era. Comet takes the opposite approach. It is AI-first: the primary way you interact with the browser is by writing or speaking to the prompt, and many everyday tasks that would normally require jumping between apps can be delegated entirely to the assistant.

This AI-centric design unlocks one of Comet’s headline capabilities: acting as an agentic assistant that can perform actions on your behalf. You might ask it to hunt down the best airfare to Paris for next month given your preferred dates and rough budget, or to compare three guitars you have open across different tabs and explain which one offers the strongest value for money. You can also hand it a ten-page PDF report for work and request a crisp, structured summary that focuses on the key metrics your manager cares about. In supported workflows, Comet can even help you send those results by email so the task is completed without leaving the browser.

Powered by the Perplexity AI search engine

Behind the scenes, Comet uses the Perplexity AI search engine as its default way of finding information. Instead of returning the familiar vertical stack of blue links that still dominates traditional search, Perplexity delivers an answer-first view: a clearly written response that pulls together insights from multiple sources across the web. Those sources are cited inline so you can verify claims, spot potential bias, or dive into the original material whenever you want more depth.

This answer-led approach makes everyday queries feel more conversational and more efficient. You can ask follow-up questions, refine your request, or have the assistant change the tone and length of the explanation, all without manually crafting a new search each time. Because the Comet Browser is tightly integrated with Perplexity search, these rich, source-cited answers appear directly inside the browsing experience instead of on a separate results page that feels disconnected from what you are reading.

Hands-free browsing, voice control, and productivity hooks

Comet also leans heavily on voice interaction. A dedicated voice-controlled mode lets you browse, search, and navigate almost entirely hands-free, which is especially useful when you are commuting, cooking, or juggling several tasks at once. You can ask what a technical term means, request a quick overview of a long article you have open in another tab, or tell the assistant to continue research you began on your desktop session earlier in the day.

Integration with apps such as Gmail and Google Calendar takes the idea further. Once granted permission, Comet can help draft and send an email that includes the summary of a document you just read, schedule a follow-up meeting in your calendar, or tame a noisy inbox by helping you focus on the most important messages first. Instead of copying and pasting text between multiple apps, you let the AI understand the context and move information to where it needs to go.

Availability, user reception, and what it signals about browsing

Perplexity originally launched the Comet Browser on desktop with tight access controls: you either had to pay for one of the more expensive Perplexity plans or wait your turn on a long waitlist before you could try it. Those hurdles have now disappeared for Android owners. The mobile version is free to install from the Play Store, making it far easier to experiment with an AI-native browser without committing to a subscription in advance.

Early feedback from Android users suggests that Comet is off to a strong start. After its first day of public ratings, the Comet: AI Browser sits at an average score of around 4.4 stars from well over a thousand reviews, a solid signal that many early adopters see real value in the assistant-driven experience and its mix of summarization, search, and automation. iOS users are not excluded from the Perplexity ecosystem either, as the separate Perplexity app is available through Apple’s App Store, giving them access to the same underlying AI technology even if the full Comet Browser experience is currently focused on Android and desktop.

For anyone curious about what browsing looks like when the browser itself can read, summarize, compare, and even act on what it finds, Comet on Android offers one of the clearest previews today. Whether it ultimately replaces your current default browser or becomes a specialist tool you reach for when research and productivity matter most, it highlights how quickly AI is moving from bolt-on feature to the core engine of the browsing experience.