Perplexity’s Comet browser is one of a new crop of AI-first browsers that give you a full environment for productive use of LLMs while using the internet. Perplexity can do so much, though it’s touted as a Google search alternative, and using Comet unlocks even more possibilities.
I’ve used Perplexity since it launched, and I was quick to try out the company’s browser when it was released to the public. Comet has changed how I use the web, but using the browser by clicking menus and writing wordy prompts isn’t the best way to use it if you want to supercharge your productivity. That’s how I did it before, but I’ve finally found the best way to use the browser is by using its many shortcuts.
Bookmark all tabs
Save every tab in the current session
This might seem unnecessary to some, but it has proved to be a handy tab management trick in my daily workflow. As someone who writes content on the web, I’m constantly drowning in heaps of tabs. But Perplexity has completely changed that, as nowadays I have a better system to manage tabs.
Before clocking out for the day, I simply bookmark all the current tabs and save them in a separate bookmark folder, and then I close all of them. I can open the previous day’s folder of bookmarks the next day, but only if necessary, when I resume work—it reduces the mental load of deciding which tabs to close the next morning. The shortcut I use for this is Shift + Cmd + D.
Launch Comet Assistant
Chat with Perplexity on any tab
Another handy shortcut I wish I had known earlier is Option + A. By pressing this command, you instantly open Comet Assistant in the browser. This has been useful in my research, where I’d like to inquire about the current web page without having to read through every detail, which, as you can imagine, saves a lot of time for any research-intensive work.
As someone who was a devoted user of Arc browser, being able to open Comet Assistant in an instant has made it easy to inquire about anything on the current web page, offering nearly identical functionality to Ask on Page.
I made Perplexity’s Comet my default browser to automate 4 tasks every day
Let Comet manage your emails, tabs, and repetitive tasks.
Open Voice Mode in an instant
Chat with Perplexity using your voice
While I’m not fond of using any kind of voice assistants, Comet’s Voice Mode has proved to be a time-saver in my daily workflow. Instead of having to type some prompts or click the relevant icon in the browser’s menu bar, I can launch Voice Mode using Option + Shift + V and ask Perplexity for the latest tech news first thing in the morning, or before I clock out for the day.
Search in open tabs
No more hovering over dozens of tabs
One of the best features of the Arc browser that I wish every browser copied is the Command Bar. If you’ve used Arc in the past or are still a holdout, you know how its Command Bar feature made switching between tabs a piece of cake. Now, in Comet, you get something similar, and you can launch the feature using the Shift + Cmd + A shortcut.
Once you hit that shortcut, Comet opens a tiny window from which you can browse through your currently open tabs. You can even enter a query to search for a specific tab, which is convenient when you have lots of open tabs.
Search information using Google Search
Yes, Comet lets you search via Google
While Comet is an AI-first browser, it doesn’t restrict you to using Perplexity at all times. You can search for information the traditional way via Google, and there are times when I prefer this. For instance, if I’m following up on a developing story, I prefer to read articles published on the web.
After entering a search query in the browser’s search bar, pressing Enter on your keyboard will open Perplexity and post your query to the LLM. But if you want to search on Google instead, you can press Shift + Enter after entering the query in Comet’s search bar. That will make Perplexity use Google’s search engine instead of prompting the LLM for answers.
Summarize the current web page
Get the tl;dr without a hassle
As someone who has to read through a number of articles to put together a well-researched piece now and then, I have come to appreciate how Comet makes it easy to get the core details of any open web page. By using the Option + S shortcut, Comet instantly opens its Assistant and prompts Perplexity with the query “Summarize the current web page.” You only need to buy a few seconds, and Perplexity will have a summary of the currently open tab. It doesn’t get easier than that.
Save your time by learning Comet browser shortcuts
Similar to other browsers, Comet has an intuitive user interface from which you can do everything, such as bookmarking a tab, searching for content on Google, summarizing the current page, and so on. Nonetheless, if you want to supercharge your productivity in Comet, you should learn the browser’s shortcuts for your most common tasks.
It’ll save you so much time. Using shortcuts might be tedious at first as you learn and familiarize yourself with them, but once you’ve grasped them, you’ll appreciate how quickly you can perform certain tasks in Comet without clicking around the interface.
