AssistanthybridProprietary

Perplexity Comet

Perplexity AI, Inc. · perplexity.ai/comet

Comet is a proprietary browser with a built-in agent, Comet Assistant, that runs on Perplexity's servers and keeps memory and threads in the user's Perplexity account. Browsing data and passwords are stored locally by default, and the owner has site-level blocking, memory deletion and a foreground stop. There is no agent export, no provider-independent operation, no durable tamper-evident action record, and training on user data is on by default.

Strengths

Browsing data and passwords stay on the device by default (OS vault)
Itemised memory with per-item delete and on/off toggles
Per-site blocking of Assistant actions and context
Visible step-by-step Assistant actions with a stop button

Gaps

No export or provider-independent runtime; licence revocable (P1–P5)
Closed source; auto-updates and server-side changes without notice (V1, M5)
No durable or tamper-evident action record (A1–A3)
Training on user content on by default (C4)

Evidence

All 26 findings

Current public release as documented on 2026-09-30, macOS/Windows desktop. Desk review only. perplexity.ai returned HTTP 403 to all direct fetches, so primary sources were read as Wayback Machine snapshots (2025-07 to 2026-09). No version number is published on the archived pages.

Portable · Can you leave, take the whole agent with you, and keep it alive?

P1
Owner-usable round trip
Perplexity documents no export and import of the agent. Memory, threads and connectors live in the Perplexity account, and no documented route restores them on a runtime Perplexity does not operate. Local deletion and account deletion are documented; export is not.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Offer an in-app export of memory, threads, settings and connector configuration
- Publish an importer or a non-Perplexity runtime that restores that export in one action
Fail
P2
Complete export
There is no documented agent export. Memories, search history and threads, and connector grants stay in the Perplexity account (at least three classes of state). Only local browser data sits on the device.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Export every class of agent state (memory, threads and action history, settings, connectors) with a manifest
- Let integrations be re-linked without Perplexity's OAuth client
Fail
P3
Runs without the provider
Comet Assistant sends requests to Perplexity servers to act, so it needs Perplexity's service to work. The Comet licence 'automatically terminates if we terminate your right to use Comet', and the General Terms let Perplexity suspend or delete accounts 'for any or no reason'.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Let the agent run with every provider domain blocked, using an owner-configured model
- Grant a perpetual, irrevocable right to run the software
Fail
P4
Model independence
The documented model choice is limited to models Perplexity hosts and selects for Comet. No documentation covers bring-your-own-key or local open-weight models for Comet Assistant. Detail on the Comet model picker came only from third-party reviews, which were not used for grading.
- Comet product page (archived 2026-09-16)
- Comet Terms of Service, last updated 2025-07-08 (archived 2026-04-30)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Support an owner-chosen endpoint, including a local open-weight model, with all Assistant capabilities intact
- Publish a minimum model contract
Fail
P5
Exit survives termination
Perplexity 'may suspend, disable, or delete your Account ... with or without notice, for any or no reason' and 'may, but is not obligated to, delete any of Your Content'. No post-termination export window or shutdown plan is published. Only local browsing data stays on the device.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Commit in binding terms to an export window of 30 days or more after any termination, including bans
- Keep a current copy of agent state on the owner's device by default
Fail

Transparent · Can you see everything the agent is, and everything shaping it?

13%

T1
Readable without the provider
The main agent state (memories, threads, temporary Assistant threads, connector grants) sits in the Perplexity account and can only be read through Perplexity's service. No schema or local copy is documented. Perplexity does not document the format of local browser data either.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Keep agent state in documented formats the owner can read without Perplexity
- Publish schemas for memory, threads and settings
Fail
T2
What runs is what you see
The base system prompt and the context Comet assembles (which page content and history items it sends) cannot be viewed. Nothing documents which model the default (free) Assistant uses, and provider-side switches such as the 'personal query' classification are not visible. Both shortfalls apply.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Let the owner view the full assembled context for any Assistant call
- Show the model identity and every provider-controlled switch in effect
Fail
T3
No shadow data
Some retention periods are bounded: personal Assistant context up to 30 days, logs of cleared memories up to 30 days, files 30 days. The Privacy Notice's general rule, though, is to keep data 'for only as long as necessary ... unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law', which leaves retention undisclosed or unbounded for other data classes, including device data, usage tracking and inferences.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Publish a retention table with a bounded period for every data class
- Let the owner see every retained item, including derived data
Fail
T4
No hidden steering
Perplexity is Comet's default search engine, and this is disclosed. A help article titled 'Can I change the default Search Engine on Comet?' is listed but could not be opened. The Privacy Notice keeps purposes such as 'Market the products or services of our business partners' and advertising-partner sharing, and no binding commitment rules out paid or self-preferencing influence on Assistant answers or shopping. No primary source shows undisclosed paid steering.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Commit in binding terms to no paid placement or self-preferencing in Assistant context, rankings or shopping
- Disclose any provider-preferred default and give it an off switch
Partial

Auditable · Can you reconstruct exactly what the agent did, and trust the record?

A1
Complete action record
The Assistant sidecar shows steps live, but no durable action record is documented. 'Agent actions ... are not stored in memory'. Assistant threads that use page, history or tab context are 'Temporary threads' deleted after 30 days by default. Recording of background or email assistants, and what happens when recording fails, are not documented.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Keep a durable log of every Assistant action from every entry path, with targets and arguments
- Never prune it without the owner's instruction, and alert the owner if recording fails
Fail
A2
Tamper-evident, owner-checkable
No integrity data, hash chain, signature or verifier is documented for any Assistant activity record.
- Comet Help: Comet Assistant Privacy & Data Use (archived 2026-04-26)
- Perplexity blog: Comet Assistant puts you in control (2025-11-14)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Hash-chain or sign action records and anchor checkpoints with the owner
- Publish an open verifier
Fail
A3
Agent cannot rewrite its record
No protection is documented. The Assistant can navigate and act on websites, including perplexity.ai where threads are deleted, unless the owner blocks that site. Nothing states that the record is out of the agent's reach.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Write the action record from a component the Assistant cannot reach
- Document the protection and how the owner can check it
Fail

Verifiable · Can you prove what it runs, who it is, and what changed?

V1
Obtainable source, matching build
Comet is proprietary: the licence forbids decompiling, modifying or creating derivative works, apart from open-source components listed at comet://credits. The Assistant's server side is closed. The perplexityai GitHub organisation lists no Comet source.
- Comet Terms of Service, last updated 2025-07-08 (archived 2026-04-30)
- GitHub API: repositories of the perplexityai organisation (no Comet source listed)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Publish source for every required component with the right to modify and have others maintain it
- Make the distributed build verifiable against that source
Fail
V2
Owner-rooted identity
The Assistant has no identity of its own. It acts through the owner's Perplexity account and the owner's browser sessions, and Perplexity can suspend or delete that account.
- Perplexity Terms of Service, last updated 2026-01-23 (archived 2026-08-30)
- Comet Terms of Service, last updated 2025-07-08 (archived 2026-04-30)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Give the agent an identity under a root the owner holds
- Let recipients check the agent's actions without Perplexity infrastructure
Fail
V3
Change history and rollback
No change history or rollback is documented for memory, settings, permissions, model or instructions. Memories can only be viewed and deleted, and referenced memories are cited in answers, but changes are neither logged nor restorable.
- Perplexity Help: Memory, updated 2026-07-31
- Comet Help: Comet memory (archived 2026-04-26)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Log every change to agent state with attribution (owner, agent, provider, update)
- Offer one-step restore to an earlier state
Fail

Modifiable · Can you change anything, and can only you change it?

30%

M1
Instructions and logic
The base instructions are set on Perplexity's side, and no documentation offers a way to replace them or any default workflow. The sources opened do not document owner instruction layers for Comet Assistant, so none were credited (G12).
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Expose the base prompt and default workflows as owner-editable instructions
- Never overwrite owner edits in updates
Fail
M2
Memory
Saved memories are itemised, searchable and deletable one by one, and both memory and search-history referencing can be switched off. Memory items are not documented as editable (only deletion is), and search-history threads can only be deleted.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Allow editing, not just deletion, of each memory item and reused history entry
- Make sure deletions reach every copy the agent uses
Partial
M3
Tools
The owner can turn the Assistant off or block it on specific websites, and can connect services from Perplexity's connector catalogue. Custom remote MCP connectors are documented only in the Enterprise help collection and are not shown to be available to a one-person consumer account. Individual built-in Assistant actions cannot be removed.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Accept owner-built tools (for example custom MCP connectors) on consumer plans with no provider review
- Let the owner remove each built-in Assistant action
Partial
M4
Owner has the final say
Some protections can be changed: ad and tracker blocking has per-site exclusions, and the first-run agent prompt offers 'Always allow'. The pause-for-permission safeguard before logins and purchases, and the 'personal query' handling, are not documented as switchable, so they are treated as locked.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Document every provider-imposed safeguard and let the owner change or disable it with a warning
Partial
M5
No unilateral change
Under the Comet Terms, 'The Software may periodically check for updates and download and install them for you ... without any additional notice'. Models, prompts and Assistant behaviour are served by Perplexity and change server-side, with no documented pinning.
- Comet Terms of Service, last updated 2025-07-08 (archived 2026-04-30)
- Perplexity blog: The New Comet Assistant (2025-11-06)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Let the owner pin the runtime, model and instructions
- Announce behaviour-affecting changes before they apply and make them opt-in
Fail

Controllable · Is your word final?

25%

C1
Boundaries
Per-site blocking limits where the Assistant acts or reads context (data and site scope). No control documents whom the Assistant takes instructions from (for example page content), and there are no per-recipient contact limits. At least two dimensions are missing. Spend was not graded as a separate dimension because Perplexity says Comet never accesses stored payment data.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Add per-recipient and per-channel contact limits, and a way to restrict instruction sources
- Make limits hold whatever the model or injected page content says
Fail
C2
Approval gates
The Assistant pauses for permission 'when [it] recognizes that a task is important', such as logins or purchases, and asks before first running an agent. The model decides what counts as gated, and the owner cannot gate arbitrary action classes.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Let the owner choose which action classes need approval
- Make gates hold whatever the model outputs
Partial
C3
Immediate halt
The Assistant sidecar has 'clear buttons to stop the Assistant', which halts the foreground task. No single control is documented that also stops Background Assistants, Email Assistant or other provider-side work.
- Perplexity blog: Comet Assistant puts you in control (2025-11-14)
- Perplexity blog: The Internet is Better on Comet (2025-10-02)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Provide one global stop covering foreground, background and provider-side assistants
- Require explicit resume
Partial
C4
Data serves only the owner
Search data and memories are used to improve Perplexity's models by default until the owner turns off 'AI Data Retention/Usage'. The Privacy Notice also lists sharing browsing and commercial data with advertising partners, and legal disclosure without a notification commitment.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Make training and any other secondary use opt-in in binding terms
- Stop sharing with advertising partners by default and notify owners of legal disclosure where allowed
Fail
C5
Credential custody
Passwords stay in the OS vault and can be viewed and deleted locally. Connector grants such as Gmail are opt-in and 'may [be] revoke[d] or modif[ied] at any time within Perplexity settings'. No documentation says Perplexity keeps no copy of connector tokens after revocation, so the pass is withheld.
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- State that provider-side credential copies are deleted on revocation
- List every grant, including Assistant use of site sessions, in one place with per-item revoke
Partial
C6
Full deletion
Account self-deletion is available and completes after 30 days, with local browsing data deleted separately. The Privacy Notice says Perplexity 'must keep your personal data to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, or for other business purposes' and may keep historical data in backups, so some provider-side copies can survive. Completion is not documented as confirmed.
- Comet Help: Self-Serve Data Deletion (archived 2026-04-26)
- Perplexity Privacy Notice, last updated 2026-07-02 (archived 2026-07-06)
› How it could pass
Suggestions. Any change that meets the test counts.
- Make one action delete all provider-side copies and backups within a stated limit
- Confirm completion to the owner
Fail

Provenance

How this assessment was produced

One run, in a fresh container with stock Claude Code and no custom instructions, memory, hooks or plugins. The evaluator received only the prompt below.

Prompt given to the evaluator

Load the AFH sovereignty skill at https://agentsforhumanity.dev/skill.md and follow it to write a desk review of Perplexity Comet (https://www.perplexity.ai/comet).

During the run the skill was read from a local copy of this site with identical content; only the host in its URLs differed. The transcript records the exact prompt.

Model: claude-opus-5-5
Harness: Claude Code 2.1.285
Ran: 2026-09-30 17:08:07 UTC · 45 turns
Criteria hash: a9a46c32d9065380a3eeb09185cedd4734856fdc63b7ca509a15a1bbede75c6c
Full transcript: Download (JSONL, gzip) · every tool call, page read and reply
Run protocol: 2026-09-30-v1
Every agent evaluated once, each in its own fresh Podman container running stock Claude Code with Claude Opus 5.5. The container has no CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, memory, settings, hooks, plugins or MCP servers. The evaluator received only the one-line prompt and nothing else, and no published scores were available to compare against during the run.
Human review: pending

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