How to Use Comet, Perplexity's AI Browser

The short version

Comet is a regular web browser with Perplexity built in. Perplexity is its search engine, and an Assistant panel sits beside whatever page you’re on. You can ask about the page, summarize several tabs, or hand it a task like filling out a form.

Step by step

1. Install it. Go to Perplexity’s Comet download page, run the installer and sign in. The Help Center lists Windows 10 or later and macOS 11 or later.
2. Bring your stuff over. Open the three-dot menu, then Settings, then Import bookmarks and settings, and choose your old browser.
3. Search from the address bar. Results come from Perplexity, with citations.
4. Open the Assistant beside any page and ask about it: “Summarize this”, “What are the next steps here?”, “Extract the dates”.
5. Bring in other tabs with @, for example “Compare @tab with this page”.
6. Make shortcuts. Type / and choose Create a shortcut to save a prompt you use often.
7. Set your limits in Settings, Privacy and security: turn the Assistant’s access to history and websites on or off, and block sites, like your bank.

Prompts to copy

Read a long page:

Summarize this page in 5 bullets, then list anything I need to do and by when.

Compare tabs:

Compare the three product pages I have open in a table: price, warranty, shipping, return policy.

Draft from a page:

Draft a short, polite reply to this email thread asking to move the meeting to next week.

A shortcut worth saving (Perplexity’s own example, /fact-check):

Examine the claims in the tab and check credible sources to fact check the claims.
Put results in an easy-to-read tabular format.

Example

You’re comparing three hotels in separate tabs. You open the Assistant and ask: “Compare these hotels on total price for 3 nights, cancellation policy and distance to the convention center.” You get a table drawn from the open pages, then check the cancellation terms on the hotel you pick.

Mistakes to avoid

• Giving the Assistant free rein on sensitive sites. Block banking, health and work admin sites you don’t want it to use.
• Choosing “Always allow” too quickly. Approving each agent run at first lets you see what it does.
• Assuming tasks finish correctly. Check bookings, orders and sent messages yourself.

Good to know

Perplexity says Comet keeps browsing data on your device by default and sends only the context a request needs. When a request uses page content, history or open tabs, that context is stored for up to 30 days and the session is marked as temporary in your Perplexity History. For private browsing, use Incognito mode, which stops the Assistant from indexing your activity.

Related: use Perplexity instead of Google and keep your data private in Perplexity.