So this happened yesterday.

Someone asked Comet to complete their Coursera assignment. Not "help with" the assignment. Complete it.

The AI read the questions. Selected the correct answers. Clicked submit. Course completed.

Aravind Srinivas, the founder of Perplexity, quoted the tweet and said: "don't do this."

But here's the thing: You can. And people are.

Welcome to Comet, Perplexity's AI browser that just went completely free. And it's not just completing coursework. People are using it to execute stock trades, navigate banking portals, and automate workflows that used to take hours.

This isn't Chrome with AI features. This is AI that controls your browser.

Before we get into how to use this, let's talk about what's actually different here.

Traditional AI assistants: You ask, they answer. You copy, you paste. You do the work.

Comet: You describe what you want done. It opens tabs, fills forms, clicks buttons, executes tasks. You watch.

The Coursera example isn't a feature. It's a warning. When AI can see your screen, understand context, and take actions on your behalf, the line between "helpful automation" and "too much automation" gets blurry fast.

But that same capability that lets it take tests can also:

The question isn't whether this is powerful. The question is whether you'll use it wisely.

Perplexity just made Comet completely free. Before this week, you needed to pay $200/month or join a waitlist. Now? Download and go.

Step 1: Download (Seriously, It's 13MB)

Click "Get Comet." Wait 10 seconds. Install.

Chrome is 300MB. Comet is 13.2MB. This thing is tiny.

Step 2: Import Your Digital Life (Or Don't)

Comet asks if you want to import your entire Google profile - browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, saved sessions.

Step 3: Choose Your Planet Avatar

Pick a username and avatar. Options include the sun, moon, and all 8 planets.

I picked Saturn. My friend picked Neptune. There's something oddly satisfying about being represented by a planet.

Step 4: The Interface

If you've used Perplexity before, you'll feel at home. The interface is identical to their web app.

At the bottom:

At the top right: Comet Assistant, Voice mode, Webpage summary.

No learning curve. Let's see what it can actually do.

Forget basic search. Let me show you what Comet can actually do that feels impossible.

Example 1: Trading Automated.

Someone on Reddit posted this: "I was experimenting with Comet and said 'buy MOCAPITAL, qty: 50 on Zerodha.' To my surprise, it actually executed the order without any manual clicks." (source)

They then asked it to apply for an LG Electronics IPO. It did that too.

Think about what just happened:

All from a single sentence.

This is both amazing and terrifying. When AI can handle real money on your behalf, you better be damn sure about what you're asking it to do.

I'm not suggesting you do this. I'm showing you that people ARE doing this, and it's working.

Example 2: The Ad-Blocker Banking Experience.

You know how banking websites are cluttered with ads, pop-ups, and promotional banners? Like ICICI Bank's portal that hits you with credit card offers before you can even check your balance?

Someone tested Comet on ICICI's net banking portal. The experience was completely different. No ads. No promotional clutter. Clean interface focused on actual banking tasks.

Why this matters: Comet doesn't just automate tasks. It filters noise. When you're trying to get work done on websites designed to distract you, having AI that focuses only on your actual goal is powerful.

These are prompts you can execute today. I'll show you what happens.

The YouTube Recipe → Grocery Cart Pipeline

What you'll do: Pick any recipe video on YouTube, doesn't matter which one. Indian, Italian, Chinese, whatever you want to cook.

Open the video. Click Comet Assistant.

Type this exact prompt: "Extract all ingredients from this recipe video with quantities and add them to my Blinkit cart."

What Comet does:

Step 1: Watches the entire video (not just reads the description)

Step 2: Opens Blinkit/BigBasket/Amazon Fresh in a new tab

Step 3: Shows you the final cart for review

Time comparison:

One Step Further

I asked Comet to proceed and place an order for me. And may I say today’s lunch had one of the best butter chicken I’ve had in a long time. The spice of automation made it much more flavorful!

Try variations:

Why this is a game-changer: You're turning passive content consumption into active task completion. That's the fundamental shift.

Quick heads up: Independent security audits from Brave and Guardio found that AI browser automation can be vulnerable to prompt injection and phishing attacks.

What that means: When AI automates tasks, it uses your logged-in permissions. A malicious website could potentially trick it into actions you didn't intend.

This isn't paranoia, it's understanding the tool. Don't give AI access to everything at once.

Free Plan: ~10-15 assistant tasks per day, basic features Comet Plus ($20/month): Unlimited tasks, priority processing Background Assistants ($200/month): For heavy automation users

Most people? Free is enough to start.

Here's what's actually happening: We're choosing between getting faster and getting smarter.

Comet can collapse 20-minute workflows into 2-minute commands. That's real time savings. But every time you delegate a task to AI, you're also choosing not to learn how that task works.

The question isn't whether to use Comet. It's which tasks to delegate vs. which to do manually.

Booking routine flights? Automate it. Making critical business decisions? Maybe do the research yourself.

That Anthropic report I covered showed this exact pattern playing out globally: Some countries use AI for collaboration and learning. Others just delegate tasks. The first group compounds intelligence. The second group compounds dependency.

Your choice matters more than the tool.

Download Comet. Try it for a week on low-stakes tasks. See if the time savings matter for how you actually work.

Until next time,
Vaibhav 🤝

P.S. Download it, try the grocery cart thing with any recipe video, and tell me: did it actually save you time or just feel like a party trick? Honest feedback only.

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