Internet Is Too Important to Be Left in Google’s Hands, Says Perplexity CEO

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas took a shot at Google on Sunday, highlighting the company's control over the Internet via its search and browser products. Specifically, the comment was made to point out the competition between Perplexity's Comet browser and Chrome. Earlier in the day, the CEO also ran a poll between the two browsers to gauge which netizens preferred. Interestingly, reports have claimed that the artificial intelligence (AI) firm also made an acquisition offer for Google Chrome a couple of months ago.

Perplexity CEO Says Internet Cannot Remain in Google's Hands

The divisive comment from Srinivas was made in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he said, “Internet is too important to be left in Google's Hands.” Interestingly, the statement was made after the Comet browser lost a poll against Chrome.

Earlier on Sunday, the Perplexity CEO posted a poll on his profile asking netizens “which is better” between Comet and Google Chrome. Nearly 14 hours later, as Chrome led the polls 51-49 percent, Srinivas made another post saying, “Have a lot more work to do to improve Comet to get way further ahead of Chrome. This is a great start.” It was then followed by the divisive comment.

Srinivas making these statements is not out of the ordinary. Since the launch of the AI answer engine platform in December 2022, the company has directly competed with Google in the search market. Notably, Perplexity has also gained a steady user base, with the company claiming 22 million active users and 780 million monthly search queries in June.

Earlier this year, Perplexity reinvigorated the rivalry by launching Comet, an AI-powered browser. Google Chrome continues to dominate this space with a market share of 63.83 percent (September 2025 data via Similarweb), making it the natural target of every browser company. Unlike Chrome, it comes with an in-built AI assistant and agentic capabilities. In our testing, we found it to be the best AI browser currently available in the market.

Notably, the Perplexity CEO is not the only one to question Google's monopoly on the Internet. In September, the US Department of Justice called the tech giant's control over the distribution of its Internet-focused products, including Chrome, unlawful. The statement was made after the DOJ won significant remedies against Google in the ongoing antitrust case.