After launching its Comet browser for Windows and Mac, Perplexity is taking its competition with Google Chrome to the next level by introducing its AI-powered browser on Android. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas confirmed to Reuters that the AI startup is in talks with smartphone makers to pre-install its Comet browser on devices.
Currently, most smartphones ship with Google Chrome pre-installed, alongside an additional browser depending on the OEM, such as Samsung Internet on Samsung devices and the ‘Internet’ app on OnePlus devices.
Having Comet as a pre-installed browser could not only give the app recognition but also increase its stickiness among users. While AI is Comet’s biggest selling point, the browser itself is built on Chromium architecture, making it an easy swap for existing Chrome users.
“It’s not easy to convince mobile OEMs to change the default browser to Comet from Chrome,” Srinivas told Reuters about getting Comet pre-installed on smartphones.
Earlier this year, Perplexity’s Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko testified in the Google antitrust case, stating that the tech giant had blocked its efforts to make Perplexity the default assistant on Motorola devices despite an agreement between both companies. He described Google’s contracts with smartphone makers as a “gun to your head.”
Perplexity eventually managed to get its app pre-installed on Motorola devices, while Google Assistant remained the default assistant app. A Bloomberg report earlier this year stated that Perplexity is working with Samsung and Apple to potentially integrate its AI search capabilities into their assistants. Apple currently uses in-house infrastructure for Siri while routing complex queries to ChatGPT, whereas Samsung has relied heavily on Google’s Gemini for its AI features.
When asked about a release date for the Comet browser on Android during a recent AMA, Srinivas declined to give a timeline, saying, “Team is sprinting.” For iOS, he stated the app could be ready in the next 2–3 months.
Currently, Comet is in beta and available only to Perplexity’s paying customers on Windows and Mac, while free users can access the agentic browser through an invite list.
Srinivas told Reuters he aims to bring Comet to “tens of hundreds of millions” of users next year after stabilising the desktop version for the initial few hundred thousand testers.
