{"id":4890,"date":"2025-07-17T13:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/4890\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:08:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:08:10","slug":"i-tested-a-new-browser-that-makes-chrome-feel-outdated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/4890\/","title":{"rendered":"I tested a new browser that makes Chrome feel outdated"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Perplexity<\/p>\n

Karandeep Singh \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

AI is embedding itself into every nook of our digital lives faster than Elon Musk can type his next obnoxious tweet. First, it was an app that could talk to you in a natural voice. Then it spread to everyday voice assistants<\/a>. And now, it\u2019s coming \u2014 strong-armed \u2014 for our main work app: web browsers.<\/p>\n

Google is pushing hard to make Gemini a core part of Chrome. The makers of Arc have already moved on to an AI-first browser. OpenAI is rumored to be working on its own Chrome alternative<\/a>. But in one corner, Perplexity \u2014 the AI search engine that wants to replace Google \u2014 has quietly launched its own browser, Comet, with limited availability.<\/p>\n

I got to use an early version of its Mac app. And I have thoughts. A lot of thoughts. Mostly, though, using Perplexity\u2019s Comet<\/a> feels like I just touched the future \u2014 the one we\u2019ve been dreaming of.<\/p>\n

Would you switch to a browser that feels more like a co-pilot than a tool?<\/p>\n

60 votes<\/p>\n

Yes, bring it on!<\/p>\n

52%<\/p>\n

No, not my thing<\/p>\n

48%<\/p>\n

Back to the future<\/p>\n

\"Perplexity<\/p>\n

Karandeep Singh \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I realize the weight of repurposing an iconic movie title, and I do that with utmost sincerity. Comet feels otherworldly. Something\u2026 perplexing for real (geddit?). And I\u2019ll tell you how.<\/p>\n

When I first got access to Comet, I assumed it was yet another browser with an AI sidebar (which it does have) that helps you with translations, summaries, and other basic stuff using the current webpage. But Comet baffled me \u2014 in the best way \u2014 right from the first step.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all been waiting for the reality where AI does stuff for us. We\u2019re partially there \u2014 Gemini, for example, integrates across Google services<\/a> so you can ask it to add calendar entries using email context or generate music playlists based on your mood. But Comet takes things a couple of notches higher. It navigates websites, learns on the go if it fails, reattempts, verifies its actions, and does tasks on your behalf \u2014 all unsupervised.<\/p>\n

The name is Comet. Agent Comet<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot\"<\/p>\n

Karandeep Singh \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Screenshot<\/p>\n

While watching the setup demo videos, something caught my eye, and I instantly started exploring it further. The video showed Comet managing tabs, adding items to carts, and more. Like the Rabbit R1<\/a> (remember that orange, wonderful rectangle?), I assumed it was trained only on specific websites, like the one in the video. My excitement ensured I proved myself wrong pretty quickly.<\/p>\n

I asked Perplexity<\/a> \u2014 the default search engine (duh!) \u2014 to tell me a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. It gave me a solid recipe. Then I asked it to add the required ingredients to my Amazon cart \u2014 and that\u2019s when the magic started.<\/p>\n

A glow appeared on the webpage and the browser started navigating the site \u2014 without me touching anything. It looked up the ingredients and began adding them to the cart. It got stuck in a loop when it couldn\u2019t find fresh chicken (Amazon India doesn\u2019t sell it at my location), and it kept trying for several minutes. Out of pity (okay, impatience), I stopped its misery and gave it a simpler task: add ingredients for aglio e olio pasta. Voila, everything was in my cart within seconds.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot\"<\/p>\n

Karandeep Singh \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Screenshot<\/p>\n

For a more obscure test, I gave it a list of well-rated Indian shows pulled from a random tweet I came across and asked it to add them to my list on JustWatch, my cross-platform watchlist manager. Now, that\u2019s a service I wouldn\u2019t expect Comet to be trained on \u2014 and rightly so. It navigated the site, tried different sections to figure out where my list was, double-checked if it had missed anything, even inspected the site\u2019s code to verify its actions.<\/p>\n

Comet navigated the site, tried different sections to figure out where my list was, double-checked if it had missed anything, even inspected the site\u2019s code to verify its actions.<\/p>\n

I asked it to create a custom list \u2014 even I had to look up where to find that option, but Comet figured it out on its own using trial and error. After that I asked it to scan my 1000+ item watchlist and surface family-friendly movies and shows specifically in Hindi and Punjabi \u2014 and it did. If it got stuck, it tried another way, like when a movie poster wasn\u2019t hyperlinked and the click failed, it tried clicking the associated text. You can see all this reasoning live in the side panel.<\/p>\n

It can even access your Gmail account (requires account linking), tell you stuff about your inbox, and take actions like replying to emails or scheduling meetings.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t already tell, I came out impressed \u2014 mostly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that slow trainee who can\u2019t learn quickly enough<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I can truly see the potential. Comet can become the assistant you always wanted. It can do mundane things in one tab, like filling your Amazon cart using your browsing history, while you focus on your main task in another. Or you can just curiously observe it \u2014 like a kid watching a robot \u2014 as it takes several minutes to do something you could\u2019ve done in five seconds.<\/p>\n

It works in parallel, without grabbing your attention. But it makes a lot of mistakes. It messes things up. And that\u2019s fair too as it\u2019s still in beta with limited access. Think of it as a newbie office trainee: slow to learn, needs to be walked through the process, often makes a mess, and needs supervision. You may find yourself repeating instructions or cleaning up after it, wondering why you didn\u2019t just do it yourself.<\/p>\n

It can do mundane things in one tab, like filling your Amazon cart using your browsing history, while you focus on your main task in another.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the point. It\u2019s supposed to handle tasks that are too trivial to steal your focus \u2014 run them in the background while you work on what matters and let you step in only if it stumbles. And from what I\u2019ve seen, things look promising on that front.<\/p>\n

I imagine it as an always-on assistant sitting quietly in the side panel, always listening. I tell it to do something in a new tab or on an existing page while I\u2019m writing \u2014 where even glancing away could break the flow \u2014 and it gets it done by the time I\u2019m finished.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the future I want to live in. And that\u2019s the future I tasted, even if briefly, with Comet.<\/p>\n

I soooo want to switch<\/p>\n

\"Perplexity<\/p>\n

Karandeep Singh \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I know Gemini is getting deeply baked into Chrome<\/a>, and it\u2019s unlikely Google isn\u2019t working on its own agentic overhaul. But right now, Comet looks like the spaceship that might one day fly between planets while the others are still circling the moon.<\/p>\n

To access it, though, you\u2019ll need Perplexity\u2019s $200\/month plan. If you\u2019re wondering \u2014 no, it\u2019s not worth spending that much every month. That decision is likely to limit early adoption. Perplexity will have to offer it for free or at least bundle it with a cheaper plan if it wants to avoid monetizing user data and still remain accessible. There are still an awful lot of rough edges around AI\u2019s use to smooth out, and the voice input system via Assistant (which actually makes the browser stand out) can be sluggish \u2014 often taking minutes to analyze a command or a page.<\/p>\n

To access Comet, though, you\u2019ll need Perplexity\u2019s $200\/month plan. If you’re wondering \u2014 no, it’s not worth spending that much every month.<\/p>\n

If you somehow manage to get access to Comet, I think you should give it a try, even if you\u2019re not in the market for a new browser. It\u2019ll give you a glimpse of what your current browser lacks \u2014 and what it could become.<\/p>\n

As for me, I\u2019ll try to hold off the urge to switch. But with how playful Comet is, I might give in. I just might.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karandeep Singh \/ Android Authority AI is embedding itself into every nook of our digital lives faster than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[554,2990,59,2991,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-4890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ai","tag-browsers","tag-gb","tag-perplexity","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}