AI search company Perplexity just revealed its upcoming browser will track virtually everything users do online to create hyper-personalized advertising profiles. The browser, aptly named Comet (because it’s about to crash into your privacy expectations), is scheduled for May release and represents the latest chapter in tech’s never-ending quest to monetize your digital existence.
In a recent podcast appearance, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas explained the browser’s core mission: collecting user behavior data across the web to fuel premium ad targeting. If this sounds eerily familiar, that’s because this surveillance-for-profit playbook helped transform Google from search upstart to $2 trillion behemoth.
The Fine Art of Justified Tracking
Perplexity believes users will accept intrusive browser tracking personalization as long as they receive supposedly relevant ads in return. It’s a bold assumption in our post-Cambridge Analytica world, especially given rising privacy concerns.
The company’s approach mirrors big tech’s established surveillance business models. Google, Meta, and Apple all employ variations of user monitoring to drive advertising revenue, albeit with different levels of transparency about their methods. The difference? Perplexity is being refreshingly blunt about its intentions.
What makes Comet particularly interesting is its aim to track user activities beyond Perplexity’s own ecosystem. The data gathered will power the company’s Discover feed, where these hyper-personalized ads will live. In essence, your entire browsing history becomes fodder for Perplexity’s advertising machine.
When Fine Is Anything But
According to Srinivas, Perplexity believes users are fine with tracking as long as it results in more relevant advertising. This assumes an exchange where privacy is the currency and targeted content is the product – a bargain many users might not knowingly agree to.
The company’s confidence is particularly puzzling given the backlash faced by established players over similar practices. Google’s cookie-tracking policies have triggered regulatory scrutiny worldwide, while Apple has positioned itself as privacy-focused specifically to differentiate from data-hungry competitors.
The browser, which has faced development delays, aims to compete directly with Chrome and Safari. What’s unclear is whether Perplexity plans to offer meaningful opt-out mechanisms or if tracking will be the non-negotiable price of admission.
Big Tech Playbook With an AI Twist
Perplexity’s approach isn’t revolutionary – it’s evolutionary. The company is following a well-worn path established by search and social media giants, but with an AI-powered twist. The difference is timing and context; Perplexity is launching its browser in an era of heightened privacy awareness and increasing regulatory scrutiny.
The ambition extends beyond browsers. Perplexity has partnered with Motorola and apparently harbors aspirations to eventually acquire Chrome – indicating just how seriously the company takes its browser strategy. For a relatively new AI company, these are surprisingly old-school monetization tactics.
What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Perplexity initially positioned itself as an alternative to established search giants, suggesting a fresh approach to information discovery. Now, its business model appears to be retracing the same surveillance capitalism steps that made those giants both profitable and controversial.
The Privacy Paradox Persists
The fundamental tension at play is familiar: companies need revenue, targeted advertising pays well, and targeting requires data. Lots of data. While some users happily trade privacy for convenience, others find browser tracking personalization increasingly uncomfortable – especially when explicitly framed as monitoring your entire online life.
Perplexity’s willingness to openly discuss its tracking ambitions marks a departure from the typically opaque language of privacy policies. Whether this transparency will win users’ trust or trigger immediate privacy concerns remains to be seen.
As Comet prepares for its May launch, the perplexing question remains: in an age of growing digital privacy awareness, how many users will willingly download a browser explicitly designed to monitor their every online move? For Perplexity, the answer to that question could determine whether their business model burns bright or flames out spectacularly.