Comet..my thoughts so far

About:

So if you haven't paid attention, as there is so much going on in the AI world, then you probably missed the launch of the Comet browser from Perplexity. I have been a big fan of the app and have been using the Pro, Max and the Enterprise Pro versions for some time now. It is for the same reason I got early access to the Beta version of the Comet.

First Impressions:

• Brilliant idea and a natural extension of the main tool itself.
• Feels like a hybrid of Safari & Chrome. Aesthetics from Apple and the Tools from Google.
• Having perplexity as an assistant is very helpful, especially when it can be accessed across tabs on live pages instead of just trained data.
• Saves time when reading & researching while working on your deliveries

Fun things I tried:

• Email Assistant: I gave it access to my gmail account to clear all the junk email I have in my inbox. You know, the ones from LinkedIn, Instagram or that over excited restaurant that wants to share every little update.
  • It was able to identify and delete about 3500 emails based on my instructions. However, Google kept blocking it citing different reasons , which highlights a major hurdle the browser will face when interacting with other apps.
• Label and organize my tabs with the help of the assistant though it wasn't able to save those permanently, I'm sure there will be a fix soon.
• At one point, I wanted to find an old video that had the famous jingle from Idea Telecom - Honey Bunny and the browser was able to find it and open it in a different tab.

Updates I noticed:

• Perplexity and the Assistant are now in sync at the thread and spaces levels. It was a challenge before but seems resolved now. This lets me access all my threads either on the phone or on the browser at any time.
• The ability to tag/mention other tabs in the assistant is helpful especially you want to avoid the back and forth when reading or researching.
  • For example: I wanted to grab the Honey Bunny video link to embed above. The assistant had retained the context and kept it ready while I continue to type here.

Friction points:

• Login & Passwords: New browser requires re-login into every website you use and a new password manager I don't trust yet which can be frustrating especially in a seamless world we live today
• No Phone App: Browsing is not limited to the laptop any more so I am constantly switching or just sticking to Safari
• Enterprise Compatibility: Still early days so not all enterprises have adopted the browser for their internal tools which can be a challenge even though they have Perplexity Enterprise Pro accounts.

Overall:

If you are searching, reading or collating your research then I believe this browser will be helpful.

I believe that the intention of the product is to replace Chrome and is aptly reflected in Aravind's posts alongside the unilateral offer it made to buy Chrome. I was able to replace Chrome to a larger extent but not ready for Safari yet because I am bought into the Apple eco-system.

Let me know what you think, either here or on LinkedIn

Namaste!