Phones won the internet hours ago, but the browser never really learned to hustle like an assistant with memory, judgment, and hands. That is the provocation behind Perplexity’s Comet arriving on Android, an “AI-first” experience that claims to turn page loading into task solving. The pitch is simple: browse less, finish more.
Setting the stage
Comet enters a market where mobile time dwarfs desktop, yet most AI browsing ideas still live on laptops. The Android launch challenges that gap by stitching agentic help into everyday tasks—searching across open tabs, summarizing findings, and acting when allowed. The emphasis is not on sprinkle-in features but on end-to-end flows that reduce hops.
The core question is whether this crosses the line from an AI add-on to a true agentic browser. For that bar, an app needs cross-tab awareness, transparent action logs, voice-first control, default search integration, and a credible security model. Comet claims most of that, with the rest on a stated roadmap.
Why this launch matters
The shift from assistive widgets to full workflows is underway, and mobile is where the stakes sit. OEM and carrier channels can vault a product into default status faster than app store charts, changing user habits at install. Android, with a dominant global share, is the most practical proving ground.
Trust will determine winners as much as speed. Chrome and Safari still anchor user behavior, and any challenger must show clear benefits without compromising safety. Early movers on Android have a brief window: if execution feels native and secure, habit can flip quickly.
Inside Comet on Android
Today, Comet lets users set Perplexity as default search, ask questions that reference open tabs, and use voice to query across sessions. Answers arrive with cross-tab summaries that thread context, cutting down the shuffle between pages. A built-in ad blocker reduces noise, which matters when an agent is steering the experience.
Agentic assistance extends to research and shopping with visible action traces, making steps auditable before approval. On desktop, the Comet Assistant already handles longer workflows like moving structured data into spreadsheets—an indicator of where Android could go next. Perplexity’s roadmap includes one-tap shortcuts, a fuller conversational agent that can take actions, and a password manager to tighten identity flows.
The competitive and distribution puzzle
Rivals are building fast. OpenAI, Opera, and The Browser Company have advanced desktop experiences, but mobile execution lags. Arc’s mobile updates slowed, and Dia arrived without a phone version. Comet’s differentiator is shipping robust agentic features first on Android, where iteration and distribution can move quickly.
Distribution strategy may prove decisive. Perplexity previously struck a preload deal with Motorola for its app, but there is no public confirmation that the browser rides the same channel. As one industry analyst put it, “Distribution power sits with OEMs and carriers; preloads can redefine defaults faster than app store wins.”
Security questions in an agent era
Autonomy expands risk. Automated actions, credential use, and cross-site context create fresh attack surfaces that traditional browser sandboxes never anticipated. A security researcher described the baseline: “Autonomous agents expand the attack surface; transparency and least privilege are nonnegotiable.”
Perplexity has acknowledged this shift, arguing that agent-era threats require rethinking fundamentals. Comet leans on action traces to enable “trust but verify,” and the upcoming password manager will face scrutiny on isolation and exportability. Practical safeguards—least-privilege logins, review of every agent step, and profile separation—remain essential for early adopters.
What to watch next
The immediate question had been whether Comet felt agentic by default on Android, and the answer landed as a qualified yes. Cross-tab context, voice-first control, ad blocking, and transparent traces set a credible baseline, while desktop progress suggested where mobile complexity might scale. For users, the actionable path had been clear: install Comet, designate Perplexity as default search, enable voice and trace reviews, and start with bounded tasks like price comparisons or data extraction from a few tabs.
For the market, the decisive signals had been distribution and security follow-through. If OEM or carrier channels elevated Comet into a default, and if the security model kept pace with autonomy, leadership on mobile AI browsing had been within reach. In the meantime, the bar for a “true AI browser” on Android had moved from concept to practice, and Comet had pushed it forward.
