Perplexity improves its Comet AI assistant

Perplexity has launched a new version of Comet Assistant for all users. The assistant can handle longer, more complex web tasks, work across multiple tabs at once, and ask for permission before interacting directly with your browser.

Comet Assistant is the AI feature built into the Comet browser that answers questions and takes actions for you. The company says that, after four months of use, people have used it to plan trips, research purchases, search for jobs, and complete tasks spread across many tabs.

An assistant that works across tabs

The update improves how Comet interprets and navigates web pages. It also expands the number of actions it can perform, which is especially useful when a task combines information from multiple sources.

For example, if you need to fill a spreadsheet with data from another website, you no longer have to copy the information by switching between tabs again and again. Comet can check both sites and complete the work with the necessary context.

The company also says the assistant can keep working for longer and abandon fewer complex tasks. In its internal tests, the new version achieved 23% better performance than its predecessor. That figure comes from Perplexity and refers to its own evaluations, not an independent measurement.

The company suggests uses including:

• Searching LinkedIn for product management roles at creative software companies.
• Comparing several websites to find the cheapest flight between San Francisco and New York.
• Creating a Google Sheet with a child's weekly record of school absences and delays.

You decide when it acts in the browser

The update also changes how Comet requests permission. If a request works better by interacting with the browser, the assistant will ask you before doing so.

You can decide whether you want it to perform the task directly in the browser. Once you choose, Comet will keep that preference for the rest of the process.

That control matters because an assistant that can open pages, enter data, or access accounts can save time, but it also needs clear boundaries. The promise is not only that it can do more, but that it lets you decide when it can do those things.

For you, the change will be most noticeable in repetitive tasks that combine research and action: comparing offers, collecting information, updating documents, or maintaining a job search. Even so, it is worth reviewing the results before considering a task complete, especially when it involves personal data, purchases, or important decisions.

Comet's evolution points to an increasingly common idea in browsers: AI does not just answer questions about the internet, it also tries to work within it. The next thing to watch will be whether these assistants can carry out long processes accurately without taking away the control users retain over their data and actions.