Perplexity AI’s decision to launch Comet on July 9, 2025, jolted the browser world this week, throwing the fast-moving artificial intelligence race straight onto the screen millions of people stare at every day. Backed by a late-stage $500 million raise at a $14 billion valuation, the San Francisco start-up is betting that software that thinks for you will tempt users away from Google Chrome’s decade-long dominance.
OpenAI, never one to cede the spotlight, is poised to answer with its ChatGPT-infused browser “within weeks,” according to sources briefed on the project. That looming debut, together with mounting U.S. antitrust pressure on Google, sets the stage for the most dramatic reshuffle of the web navigation market since Netscape fell to Microsoft a generation ago.
Comet Launch Signals A New Browser Arms Race
Perplexity’s new browser isn’t just another Chrome clone with a chat box. By default, an AI sidebar called Comet Assistant reads every page, offers instant summaries, and can string tasks together—re-booking dinner when the restaurant changes its hours or combing academic journals for a meta-analysis in seconds. Access is currently available to $200-per-month Max subscribers, a pricing tier aimed squarely at professionals and enterprises.
That hefty price tag hasn’t hurt early momentum. Comet already processed 780 million queries in May, growing more than 20 percent month over month. Chief executive Aravind Srinivas says the goal is “a billion weekly queries” within a year—a figure that would rival a midsize search engine.
OpenAI Readies Its Countermove
If Perplexity has grabbed the early headlines, OpenAI could steal them back before summer is out. The company is to launch an AI browser within weeks, stitching ChatGPT directly into the browsing canvas rather than relegating it to a plug-in. Crucially, the software will run on Google’s backbone: an insider confirms the browser is built on Chromium’s open-source code base.
Scale matters and OpenAI already commands an enormous audience. Thanks to ChatGPT’s 500 million weekly users, the company can flip a switch and invite an army of testers—something even deep-pocketed Perplexity can’t yet match.
Chrome’s Fortress Shows Cracks
Google still rules the address bar, but its grip has begun to loosen. Statcounter data show the company’s worldwide search share search share dipped to 89.71% in March, the first time below 90 percent since 2015. On the browser side, Chrome holds 66.6% market share on desktops and mobile combined, or, depending on the dataset, commands about 66% global share. Those numbers remain imposing—but they are no longer unassailable.
Regulatory Hammers Swing
Washington may do what rivals could not: separate Chrome from its parent. Last year, a federal judge ruled Google illegally maintained a search monopoly; now, the Justice Department demands Chrome divestiture as the chief remedy. A remedies trial started in April 2025, with a final decision expected by August. Should Judge Amit Mehta order a carve-out, Chrome could change hands—or at least its links to Google Search—before the year is out.
Privacy Questions Cast A Shadow
Consumers may cheer about new features, but privacy advocates see storm clouds. Academic research found that 41% of AI Chrome extensions harvest data. Comet raises fresh alarms: internal documentation confirms the browser tracks nearly every interaction, from scroll depth to cursor position, to fine-tune its agent. Perplexity says data collection enhances user experience; critics counter that “experience” is Silicon Valley’s euphemism for surveillance.
Market Size And Investor Fever
Money explains the frenzy. Analysts forecast the AI search market to reach $108.88 billion by 2032, ballooning at a 14 percent annual clip. Platforms that can capture a sliver of that pile—whether through subscriptions, ad replacement, or enterprise licenses—could mint the next generation of tech giants.
Enterprise Appeal
Both Perplexity and OpenAI pitch their browsers as workplace workhorses. Comet syncs with Slack, calendars, and CRM dashboards, promising to slash research time. OpenAI’s still-unnamed project will reportedly autofill web forms and purchase tickets on command, a feature built on the same agent technology that powers ChatGPT-4o’s actions.
Geographic Battlegrounds
Chrome’s reign isn’t uniform. Its share tops 78 percent in South America but falls to just over half in North America. Europe, meanwhile, has become a hotbed for privacy-focused upstarts. Those regional gaps leave room for AI newcomers to carve footholds—mainly if local regulators further restrict Google’s data practices.
Advertising At Risk
For Google, the peril is existential. Search ads generated $175 billion last year, underwriting everything from Gmail to self-driving cars. If AI browsers answer questions in sidebars without sending clicks back to Google results pages, that cash spigot could slow. Perplexity is already testing an ad-free premium model; OpenAI could follow suit, leaving Google alone in its dependency on sponsored links.
Speed Versus Trust
Early testers rave about Comet’s speed—no more hopping through tabs to assemble information. Yet users also report errors when the assistant misreads context or fabricates citations. Trust, long Google’s currency, may prove the toughest moat to cross.
Hardware On The Horizon
OpenAI’s ambitions extend beyond software. Its $6.5 billion purchase of Jony Ive-led device maker io hints at a future where the company controls both the browser and the screen it lives on. Imagine an AI-native tablet that talks, types, and searches without ever loading a traditional webpage. Google’s rumored “Chromebook X” AI laptop suggests it sees the same future unfolding.
Can Google Pivot?
Inside Mountain View, engineers are racing to fold Gemini—the company’s flagship generative AI—deeper into Chrome. Sources say an “Assistant Mode” could appear in public builds by year-end, offering voice summaries and form-filling similar to Comet. Whether users will stick with the incumbent or jump to nimbler rivals may hinge on how quickly Google can refactor its 15-year-old code base.
Developers Caught In The Middle
Site owners face a dilemma: optimize for Google’s blue links or for AI agents that quote answers directly. Some publishers have started structuring content to be machine-digestible, embedding metadata designed for Perplexity’s crawler. Others negotiate licensing deals to ensure AI summaries continue to drive traffic to their sites.
What Happens Next?
Three forces will shape the outcome: regulation, privacy sentiment, and raw AI capability. If courts break Chrome from Google Search, market dynamics could shift overnight. If privacy scandals erupt, users may balk at ever-smarter agents. And if AI assistants finally deliver on the promise of truly conversational computing, the humble browser tab could become as dated as a dial-up modem.
Key Takeaways:
- Comet’s launch marks the first credible AI-native challenge to Chrome’s dominance.
- OpenAI’s forthcoming browser, built on Chromium, could leverage ChatGPT’s vast user base.
- Google faces simultaneous threats: a DOJ push to divest Chrome and a gradual erosion of search share.
- Privacy researchers warn that AI browsers collect unprecedented amounts of personal data.
- Analysts predict the AI search market will exceed $100 billion by 2032, fueling investor enthusiasm.