Perplexity’s Comet for iOS uses Google Search by default

Perplexity’s new Comet browser for iOS defaults to Google Search. That’s because mobile queries often focus on navigation, local results, and transactions, where “Google does a much better job … than anyone else … including Perplexity,” according to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas.

Comet for iOS. It includes Perplexity’s AI assistant directly in the browser. Comet for iOS also blends AI answers with standard search results. For many queries, you’ll still see a traditional results page.

• You can ask questions by voice while browsing.
• The assistant can summarize pages, answer questions, and take actions like drafting emails.
• Deep Research features generate cited summaries and prep materials.

What Comet does. According to Perplexity, the assistant can act on your behalf. Examples include:

• Summarizing articles and sharing outputs.
• Researching people or topics across tabs.
• Assisting with bookings or form fills.

What Perplexity is saying.

• “The search experience in Comet iOS provides traditional search results pages for fast, local, and high-intent queries that are more common on mobile. Meanwhile, the Comet Assistant easily allows for more advanced knowledge and intelligence powered by the Perplexity answer engine. The intention is for users to have the smoothest browsing experience possible for the real use cases of iOS.”

Why we care. The near future of search increasingly looks hybrid, which means you’ll need to optimize for traditional Google results and AI-driven answers. This also reinforces Google’s dominance in commercial and local search while shifting competition to the AI layer.

The announcement. Comet is Now available on iOS

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