Exploring How Comet Works (Perplexity’s AI Browser)

• Install the Comet desktop app.
• Follow the onboarding instructions.
• Turn your volume up for the onboarding music.

Ignore the bit about making Comet your default browser to block ads. It blocks ads even if it’s not your default browser.

The sidebar and the top right of the navbar are where your tools are.

Sidebar features:

• Library: a list of your chat history.
• Discover: similar to the front page of an AI newspaper. You can customize which trends you are interested in.
• Spaces: where you can build Perplexity agents with custom context. Context can include documents, MCP tools, links, and instructions.
• Finance: a mix of Yahoo stocks and Bloomberg Terminal, but with AI.
• More: additional tools you can add to your sidebar.

Navbar features:

• Summarize this webpage: press the button with three lines or press ⌥ + S to open a new assistant that will summarize whatever page you’re on.
• Launch Voice Mode: press the sound-wave button or ⌥ + Shift + V to open an assistant in voice mode that can interact with the page and do tasks for you.
• Assistant: press the Assistant button to open the assistant on the right side. The assistant can take control of your browser tab and do tasks for you.

• Click Spaces → Templates.
• Choose a task to try. The source recommends Trip Planner Pro.

Plan me a trip from [starting city] to [destination city] on [dates].

Templates are like custom GPTs, but a little more predefined. For example, the trip planner will sometimes, but not always, give you a form to select choices like budget and activities before it starts research. Try a couple prompts to see what you get.

There’s a “Get Started with Perplexity” template that can help you learn how to use it better.

• Go to a retailer like Amazon or Walmart.
• Open Assistant with ⌥ + A or by clicking in the top right corner.
• Try the prompt below.

Find a computer mouse with 5k+ reviews averaging above 4.5 stars for under $60 and add it to my cart.

• You should see a blue overlay appear on your browser window. This means Perplexity is controlling your tab.

To get the most out of Comet, set up a few integrations and services. Click your profile icon and set up Assistant, Connectors, and Purchases.

• Purchases lets Perplexity use your credit card to make purchases on your behalf.
• You can track packages in the Purchases menu.
• Comet has a similar menu for travel reservations too.