AI-powered web browsers want to help people save time. But are they effective?

First they took care of your writing.

First they took care of your writing. Now, artificial intelligence systems are looking to do your web browsing for you.

A new slate of AI-powered web browsers have come onto the scene, as AI companies look for more ways to integrate their tools into daily life.

Perplexity AI’s web browser, Comet, launched on Wednesday to much fanfare from some tech circles, as early users tested out its capabilities. It enters a crowded space, which includes products like Dia, Google’s Gemini in Chrome, and a reported upcoming browser from ChatGPT creator, OpenAI.

Perplexity touts Comet, available only to those on the company’s $200-per-month tier, as a “thought partner” that helps users accomplish tasks without having to do the work of actually browsing. In tests, NBC News found that the browser can book reservations, prepare online purchases and plan a full vacation. But the process wasn’t as seamless as it appears in the demos.

The browser is part of an escalating race to advance AI agents, or AI systems that can make decisions and take action on a user’s behalf. When users chat with a tool like Claude or ChatGPT, they type a question and get a response, but they still need to decide what to do with the answer. An AI agent, however, will send questions directly to the browser and even generate new ones based on its knowledge about you and make decisions proactively.