Perplexity has launched its Comet AI browser on Android, expanding the tool’s availability beyond desktop with a built-in AI assistant for enhanced searching and browsing. Announced on November 20, 2025, the mobile debut positions Comet as a direct challenger to Google by integrating AI directly into the browsing experience, with an iOS version slated for release soon to further broaden access to Perplexity’s AI-driven platform.
Launch Details and Timeline
Perplexity is bringing its AI browser strategy firmly into the mobile era by releasing Comet first on Android, turning what had been a desktop and web-focused product into a pocket-ready tool for everyday use. Coverage of the rollout describes Comet as a full-featured browser that arrives on Android with Perplexity’s AI assistant embedded at the core of the interface, rather than bolted on as a separate chatbot, a shift that signals how the company wants users to treat AI as the default way to search and navigate the web rather than as an optional add-on. By prioritizing Android as the initial mobile platform, Perplexity is targeting the world’s largest smartphone ecosystem and giving developers and early adopters a concrete alternative to the default Chrome experience that dominates many devices.
The announcement on November 20, 2025 is framed in multiple reports as a milestone that accelerates Perplexity’s push into mobile ecosystems and intensifies its rivalry with Google. One detailed account notes that the company is positioning Comet as a browser where queries, page navigation, and content understanding all flow through a single AI layer, with the built-in assistant handling real-time questions directly inside the tab rather than sending users out to a separate search page. That timing matters for stakeholders watching the AI browser race, because it places Perplexity’s Android launch in the same competitive window as other AI-native interfaces and signals that the company intends to compete not only on model quality but also on distribution and default user behavior.
Key Features of Comet on Android
Reports on the Android release emphasize that Comet’s defining feature is the tight integration of Perplexity’s AI assistant into the browsing flow, enabling instant web summaries, contextual explanations, and personalized search results without forcing users to jump between apps. One breakdown of the app explains that when a user opens a page, the assistant can generate concise overviews of long articles, surface key points, and answer follow-up questions in the same view, effectively turning each tab into an interactive briefing rather than a static document. For users who routinely skim news, research products, or compare technical documentation, that kind of in-page summarization changes the stakes by reducing the time spent scrolling and by making complex information more approachable on small screens.
Comet also differentiates itself with AI-powered navigation features that aim to reduce reliance on traditional search engines, including proactive suggestions that appear as users type or browse. One report on the Android app highlights how the browser can suggest related pages, refine ambiguous queries, and offer alternative sources when a user is reading a single article, which in practice nudges people away from a single search results page and toward a more conversational exploration of the web. The Android build is described as optimized for everyday performance on mainstream phones, with compatibility that spans typical consumer devices rather than being limited to high-end flagships, a design choice that broadens the potential audience and gives students, commuters, and workers a way to test AI-native browsing without upgrading hardware.
Expansion from Desktop to Mobile
Before arriving on Android, Comet had already been available as a desktop and web-based AI browser, where it built a reputation for combining traditional navigation with conversational search. Coverage of the new release stresses that moving from the desktop environment to Android is not just a port but a scope change, because it brings Perplexity’s AI capabilities into the contexts where people most frequently look up information, such as on public transit, in meetings, or while multitasking at home. By extending the same assistant that previously lived in desktop tabs into a mobile browser, Perplexity is effectively collapsing the gap between its standalone AI tools and the everyday browsing habits that still revolve around mobile devices.
Several reports note that Android users can now download Comet directly from app stores and immediately access integrated AI browsing without switching between a browser and a separate assistant app, which simplifies the workflow for tasks like planning trips, checking product reviews, or summarizing long PDFs. That shift in access is strategically important because it moves Perplexity from being a destination service that users visit when they remember to, into a default gateway to the web that can intercept queries at the moment they arise. As a result, the Android launch is portrayed as a deliberate step in Perplexity’s broader plan to embed AI into daily mobile habits, building on its established web presence and setting the stage for the upcoming iOS version that will extend the same model to iPhone and iPad users.
Market Implications and Google Rivalry
Analysts and reporters consistently frame Comet’s Android debut as a direct challenge to Google’s dominance in mobile browsing and search, since the new app offers an AI-native alternative to Chrome on the very platform where Chrome is often preinstalled. One report on the launch argues that by making the AI assistant the primary interface for queries, Comet reduces the visibility of traditional search results pages and could, over time, divert traffic away from Google’s core advertising-driven model. For users, that shift means a browsing experience that is less about clicking through a ranked list of links and more about receiving synthesized answers, while for Google it introduces a competitor that is trying to redefine what a browser does at the operating system level rather than just competing on speed or privacy.
The implications extend beyond search market share to developers, publishers, and privacy-conscious users who are watching how AI browsers handle data and attribution. Some coverage points out that developers will need to consider how their sites are parsed and summarized by Comet’s assistant, since AI-generated overviews could change how often users click through to full pages, which in turn affects engagement metrics and monetization strategies. At the same time, users who are seeking AI-enhanced browsing options that promise more control over their data may see Comet as a way to experiment with a different model of search and navigation, especially as Perplexity prepares an iOS release that will bring the same approach to Apple’s ecosystem and potentially disrupt the browser market across platforms by giving people a consistent AI-first experience on both major mobile operating systems.
How Different Outlets Describe Comet’s Android Debut
Coverage of the launch varies in emphasis but converges on the idea that Comet’s Android app is a fully fledged browser with AI at its center rather than a simple wrapper around a chatbot. One detailed report explains that Perplexity brings Comet browser to Android with a built-in AI assistant, underscoring that the assistant is not a sidebar but a core part of how users search and read the web. Another outlet notes that Perplexity’s Comet AI Browser expands to Android, framing the move as an expansion of an existing AI browsing concept rather than a brand-new product, which matters for investors and partners who are tracking how quickly Perplexity can scale its technology across platforms.
Additional reporting highlights the competitive and technical angles of the release, with one piece stating that the Comet AI browser hits Android with Perplexity on board and another explaining that Perplexity’s AI browser Comet launches on Android as part of a broader push into mobile. A separate account notes that Perplexity brings its AI browser Comet to Android, reinforcing the narrative that the company is not just releasing an app but is actively bringing an AI-centric browsing philosophy into the mainstream Android ecosystem. Taken together, these descriptions show a consistent picture of Comet as a strategic bet on AI-native browsing that could reshape how users, developers, and competitors think about the role of the browser in an era of conversational interfaces.
