What Comet Actually Is

Comet is a free web browser from Perplexity built on Chromium (the same engine as Chrome). It looks and works like any browser — bookmarks, tabs, extensions — with one major difference. There’s an AI assistant panel built into the right side of every page you visit.

That assistant can see everything on the page: text, video transcripts, images, links. It’s not a separate tool you copy-paste into. It’s live, in context, and aware of exactly what you’re looking at.

What Happens When a Student Opens Your Course in Comet

In a live demo using a FluentCommunity course, here’s what the AI assistant did when prompted:

“How can I use this process to create a course on communication skills?” — The assistant read the lesson content, adapted the framework to the student’s specific topic, and generated custom prompt examples. Not the generic ones from the course — ones tailored to what the student asked for.

“What is the most important part of the process and where in the video should I watch?” — The assistant analyzed the 26-minute video transcript, identified the critical sections, and provided specific timestamps. The student skipped straight to what mattered to them personally.

It also supports screenshots for math equations or diagrams, voice transcription so you don’t have to type, and conversation mode for back-and-forth discussion about the page content.

Why This Changes the Teaching Model

Course completion rates hover around 15% on platforms like Udemy — even for top instructors. Students skim videos, skip lessons, and drop off. With an AI browser, the student doesn’t need to watch your full video or read every word. They ask the assistant what matters to them, get a personalized answer, and move on.

This means the value of a recorded lesson drops. The student gets what they need faster from the AI than from watching your content linearly. Your 26-minute video becomes a 30-second summary plus targeted timestamps.

What Educators Need to Do Instead

The shift is from content delivery to framework delivery. Teach repeatable processes that require human judgment to apply. Let the AI assistant handle clarification and personalization — that’s what it’s good at. Your job becomes making sure students understand how to apply the framework in their specific situation.

Focus on accountability and live interaction. The AI can explain your content. It can’t hold someone accountable for actually doing the work. It can’t adjust a framework in real time based on watching someone struggle with implementation. That’s where you stay irreplaceable.