Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas reportedly said it was difficult to convince mobile OEMs to make Comet the default browser.
Perplexity’s Comet being preinstalled on smartphones could take users away from Google Chrome
Photo Credit: Perplexity
Perplexity is reportedly holding discussions with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its Comet browser. As per the report, the artificial intelligence (AI) answer engine platform wants its AI-powered browser to reach "tens to hundreds of millions" users by 2026. The Comet browser was launched on July 10 and is currently available to Perplexity's Max subscribers only. Other users will be given access on an invite basis in the coming days. Notably, the AI browser is powered by the same AI answer engine that powers its search platform.
According to a Reuters report, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said that the company is in talks with smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to pre-load the Comet browser. The comment is interesting given that currently, Comet only supports Windows and macOS desktop interface, and there is no mobile browser app.
However, it is likely that the mobile version of the app is already in the works, and the company plans to launch it in partnership with a smartphone brand. Last year, Perplexity joined hands with Nothing to offer a free Pro subscription to all Indian users who purchase the Nothing Phone 2a via the company's website or Flipkart.
The CEO is reportedly considering pre-installing the browser in smartphones to increase its “stickiness.” Essentially, the company is banking on the probability that if an app comes pre-loaded on a smartphone, there is a higher chance that users will try it out. Notably, the company is said to have ambitions to reach 10 million to 100 million users in 2026 across all platforms.
However, while pre-installing the app on a smartphone might be possible, Srinivas told Reuters that brands are not very willing to make it the default app. "It's not easy to convince mobile OEMs to change the default browser to Comet from Chrome,” he was quoted as saying.
Currently available in beta, the Comet browser comes with an AI-powered sidebar assistant that is contextually aware of all the opened tabs and can assist users with any queries about them. The browser also has agentic capabilities and can autonomously book an appointment with a business, send a webpage or its content as an email, purchase products from e-commerce websites, and more.
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