Perplexity makes Comet free on desktop worldwide, launches Comet Plus

Perplexity announced on Friday that its Comet web browser is now available to all desktop users worldwide for free, ending the prior waitlist and subscription requirement that had limited access since the browser's July debut. The company said Comet will remain free, and it is rolling out a paid add-on, Comet Plus, offering curated news content for a monthly fee.

Comet is built around an integrated AI assistant that appears in each new tab and can answer questions, summarize pages, draft messages, and perform a range of tasks drawn from web sources. Perplexity also introduced Background Assistants, which the company says can run asynchronously to handle tasks across apps without constant user supervision. An Email Assistant, previously available to higher-tier subscribers, can be copied on threads to draft replies and assist with scheduling. Perplexity said a desktop mobile app with voice interaction is coming for iPhone and Android.

The move removes the previous barriers to Comet, which had been available only to Perplexity Max subscribers at a $200 per month rate or to users on a waitlist. The company said an initial waitlist of roughly 460,000 users quickly expanded to...