Chrome, retire. Perplexity has released its own AI browser, OpenAI — is next in line

AI startups are increasingly encroaching on the territory of tech giants. Currently, Perplexity has launched its own AI browser Comet, and OpenAI is about to release its analog.

Developers who were creating chatbots yesterday are now building full-fledged browsers and openly challenging Google Chrome. This is happening against the backdrop of a rapid increase in the number of search queries via AI assistants — and at the same time drop in traffic to Google. The tech giant itself understands the situation: in recent months Chrome is actively acquiring AI features and the search engine is testing a new AI mode.

Comet is already available for subscribers Perplexity Max ($200/month) and a limited group of users on a waiting list. The browser has a built-in Perplexity AI search engine by default, which generates summaries instead of traditional links. In addition, Comet has a built-in Comet Assistant — an AI agent that automates routine tasks: reads mail, summarizes the calendar, manages tabs, and performs actions for the user on pages. You can call it at any time right on the website — it sees the content and reacts to it.

To do this, however, you will have to provide significant access to your Google account — including your calendar, contacts, files, and screen. This is a concern for some users, although the assistant performs basic tasks quite well.

During the tests, journalists noticed: Comet Assistant handles simple requests well, for example: «Find time for an event» or «Summarize these emails». However, in more complex scenarios — such as booking a parking lot with specific parameters — it easily makes mistakes, generates false data, and misleads users.

OpenAI is not far behind. The company plans to integrate an Operator agent into the browser that will allow users to browse pages without leaving ChatGPT. Accordingly, it will preserve the dialog logic even if the user follows links. There is a high probability that the browser will also store the entire history of requests, just like the chatbot. It’s ironic that former members of the Chrome team, who are involved in the OpenAI project, are breathing down «Google’s neck.

But there are plenty of competitors besides Perplexity and OpenAI. For example, The Browser Company (Dia) has its own AI-based browsers, and Google integrates Gemini into Chrome. In addition, it turns out Gemini embeds Android and raises questions about the security of private data. We can say for sure that the main battle is not only for the browser market, but also for search as such: fewer and fewer people «google», and more and more — ask AI.

Perplexity, according to CEO Aravind Srinivas, sees the browser as the basis of a new operating system. In May 2025 alone, the startup processed 780 million queries, and the volumes are growing by 20% per month.

Source: TechCrunch 1, 2