Can Perplexity AI, Comet beat Google Chrome? Netizens say THIS about the two

Following the release of Perplexity AI's Comet browser for Pro subscribers in India this week, a recurrent question resurfaces: can perplexity AI—and Comet—beat Google Chrome?

For all levels of internet users, Chromium-based Google Chrome is a way of life. It is strongly integrated within the web ecosystem: its expansive index, speed, multi-platform integration, and cross-device syncing are some of the key factors that made it the default browser of millions.

ALSO READ | How is Perplexity’s Comet AI browser different from standard browsers?

In contrast, Comet—which is also Chromium-based—taps into a new trend: the demand for "agentic AI", or AI with enough agency to interpret traditional search results to better answer a query. Comet comes with Perplexity (an AI-powered search engine) built-in.

Despite allegedly using Google and Bing as a foothold for its own index, netizens question whether Perplexity can actually pull off a a David vs Goliath takedown of the world's most famous browser.

"Perplexity can fail spectacularly because it could pull poor results and then confidently say answers that are actually irrelevant or outright incorrect. Plain searches may sound primitive in comparison, but it's far quicker for me to see that I just need to tweak my search query or filter through the useless results out of experience," a Redditor wrote, highlighting that Perplexity's indexing was still nowhere near Chrome's level.

"I like perplexity. Does a better job than Google for me when I want an answer and not search for a specific thing. Like the links too so I can validate. But I def think there is room for improvement," a Redditor wrote in support of Perplexity.

Before you get too perplexed at this question, it is important to remember that the two serve different search purposes: Chrome's Google for traditional search results, and Perplexity for interpreted answers to questions using search results.

Even if there comes a time where Google Chrome is relegated to the ranks of dear old Internet Explorer and Yahoo, it would take a generational shift, so Chrome is safe for many years to come.

And at the very least: Chrome's free, while Comet isn't!