AI browser 'Comet' by Perplexity could take over your calendar, inbox and job

Time of India

5 days ago

Perplexity AI
, a rising player in the artificial intelligence space backed by
Nvidia
,
Jeff Bezos
,
Accel
, and Eric Schmidt, has put a bold new idea on the table. Its CEO, Aravind Srinivas, claims their latest product, an
AI-powered browser
called
Comet
, could soon replace two staple roles in most offices: recruiters and executive assistants.
'Comet is not just another chatbot,' Srinivas told The Verge's Decoder podcast. 'It's an AI-native browser that performs operational tasks, like a silent worker running continuously in the background.'
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That's a sharp shift from what most people expect out of a browser. But Srinivas isn't talking about hypothetical features. He says these functions are already built into the product.
What it can do today
At the heart of Comet's appeal is its tight integration with platforms like Gmail, Google Calendar, LinkedIn, and Google Sheets. That connectivity allows it to automate entire workflows without needing constant instructions.
For recruiters, Srinivas says Comet can already handle the full candidate pipeline. 'A recruiter's work worth one week is just one prompt: sourcing and reach outs,' he said. From there, the tool can 'keep following up, keep a track of their responses. If some people respond, go and update the Google Sheets, mark the status as responded or in progress and follow up with those candidates, sync with my Google calendar, and then resolve conflicts and schedule a chat, and then push me a brief ahead of the meeting.'
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He added, 'Some of these things should be proactive. It doesn't even have to be a prompt.'
The same goes for administrative tasks. Comet can manage meetings, schedule conflicts, triage emails, and prepare documents—all using natural language. Srinivas believes this is enough to make both roles largely redundant.
Why this is more than just a feature
Srinivas doesn't want Comet to be seen as just another AI tool. His vision is much bigger.
He wants Comet to evolve into what he calls an "
AI operating system
" for white-collar workers. A system that runs in the background, executes commands through simple prompts, and reduces the need for manual input altogether.
His logic is that if you can get meaningful work done in a few clicks—or with no clicks at all—users will be willing to pay for it. 'And at scale, if it helps you to make a few million bucks, does it not make sense to spend $2,000 for that prompt? It does, right? So I think we're going to be able to monetise in many more interesting ways than chatbots for the browser,' he said on Decoder.
Still in Beta, but already looking ahead
At the moment, Comet is still in invite-only beta and limited to premium users. But invites for free users have opened up, with some features likely to stay behind a paywall.
In a Reddit AMA earlier this week, Srinivas confirmed that free access would expand over time, though advanced AI-powered features may remain reserved for paying customers.
The company isn't stopping at desktop browsers either. Talks are already underway with smartphone makers to get Comet pre-installed, which would place it in direct competition with Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
Srinivas admitted this will be hard but believes it could be a 'game-changer for user growth.' The company has just raised $500 million in funding and is preparing to scale from a few hundred thousand testers to 'tens to hundreds of millions' of users by next year.
The wider impact: Skills divide or workplace revolution?
In an interview with Matthew Berman, Srinivas warned that people who fail to learn how to use
AI tools
will quickly fall behind.
'People who really are at the frontier of using AIs are going to be way more employable than people who are not. That's guaranteed to happen,' he said. He also advised, 'Spend less time doomscrolling on Instagram' and instead invest time in learning AI tools 'not for the company's benefit, but simply because that's your way to, like, add value to the new society.'
He acknowledged the pace of change is daunting. 'Every three months or six months, it does take a toll on people, and maybe they just give up.' Still, he believes those who adapt will be the ones to shape the next wave of job creation, especially through entrepreneurship.
A debate that's far from settled
Srinivas's claims aren't happening in a vacuum. Other voices in the tech industry are sounding similar alarms.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has predicted that up to 50 percent of entry-level office jobs may disappear in five years. Ford CEO Jim Farley echoed that, warning that half of white-collar jobs in the US are under threat from AI.
Not everyone agrees. Nvidia's Jensen Huang has said that while AI has changed his job, it hasn't made it obsolete. Salesforce's Marc Benioff also argues that AI is meant to support, not replace.
But there's little doubt that
workplace automation
is picking up speed. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently urged employees to embrace AI tools or risk redundancy. As platforms like Comet become more capable, the pressure to adapt is only growing.
The story of Comet is not just about replacing tasks. It's about redefining what work looks like and who gets to do it. Whether it becomes a useful co-worker or a disruptive force depends on how companies and workers respond.
What's clear is that the line between human and machine output in office work is becoming harder to see. And the pace of that change is no longer theoretical. It's already in motion.