I tried 5 Perplexity Comet alternatives to find the best AI agent in 2025

The buzz around AI "agentic browsers" like Perplexity Comet is getting pretty loud. The promise is a personal assistant that can do your research, automate your tedious tasks, and summarize content for you. It's a cool idea for how we might use the internet in the future.

But let's be real, switching your entire browser is a massive pain. Most of us are comfortable with Chrome or Safari. The idea of moving everything over, on top of Comet being in beta with waitlists and unknown subscription costs, is enough to make you think twice.

That’s why I went on a hunt for the best Perplexity Comet alternatives. I wanted to find out who else is delivering on this AI automation promise, whether it’s through a brand-new browser, a simple extension for my current setup, or a tool designed for a specific job.

Understanding AI agents

Before we get into the tools, let's quickly clarify what we're talking about. An "AI agent" isn't just another chatbot. A chatbot can tell you how to do something, but an AI agent can actually do it for you.

Think of it this way: a chatbot can give you a recipe for lasagna. An AI agent can find the recipe, add all the ingredients to your grocery delivery app, and place the order. It gets the goal and then takes the necessary steps across different websites to make it happen.

These agents are popping up in a few different forms:

• Agentic Browsers: A whole new browser built around an AI agent, like Comet or Dia.

• Browser Extensions: Add-ons that give your current browser some of those agent-like skills.

• Workflow Platforms: Agents that are built to work inside the business tools you already use, like your helpdesk or internal wiki.

graph TD subgraph Chatbot A[User: "How do I make lasagna?"] --> B{Chatbot: Provides recipe}; end subgraph AI Agent C[User: "Get me the ingredients for lasagna"] --> D{AI Agent: Finds recipe}; D --> E{Adds ingredients to Instacart}; E --> F{Places order}; end

How I picked the best Perplexity Comet alternatives

I didn't want this to just be a list of cool-sounding tech. I looked at each tool from a practical standpoint, asking questions that matter for day-to-day use.

• Can it actually automate? Does it handle real, multi-step tasks, or is it just summarizing articles?

• Is it easy to use? How long does it take to get started? Do you have to schedule a sales call just to try it, or can you just sign up and go?

• What's the deal with privacy? Where is my data going? Is it processed on my machine or in the cloud? Who can see it?

• Does it play well with others? Does it make me ditch my current tools, or does it fit into my existing workflow and make it better?

• Is it worth the money? Is the pricing clear? Does it actually save enough time or effort to justify the cost?

At a glance: Comparing the top 5 Perplexity Comet alternatives

Here’s a quick summary of the tools I checked out and what they’re good for.

| Tool | Best For | Core Concept | Privacy Model | Pricing | | :\u002d\u002d- | :\u002d\u002d- | :\u002d\u002d- | :\u002d\u002d- | :\u002d\u002d- | | eesel AI | Business \u0026 Support Automation | AI agents for your existing helpdesk \u0026 wiki | Private data, SOC 2 Type II subprocessors | Starts at $299/mo | | BrowserOS | Open-Source Enthusiasts | Privacy-first Chromium fork with local agents | Local-first, open-source | Free (BYO API keys) | | GPT Breeze | Casual Productivity | Lightweight Chrome extension | 100% local, no account needed | Free tier, premium available | | Dia Browser | Design \u0026 Simplicity | Minimalist AI browser with "Skills" | Cloud-based (OpenAI wrapper) | Invite-only beta | | OpenAI Atlas | ChatGPT Power Users | Native ChatGPT browser experience | User-controlled memories, cloud-based | Free (tied to ChatGPT plans) |

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The 5 best Perplexity Comet alternatives in 2025

After spending some time with each of these, it’s obvious that the "best" one really depends on your goal. Are you just trying to boost your personal productivity, or are you looking to automate serious business tasks? Here’s my breakdown.

1. eesel AI

This one is a bit different. While most of the other tools on this list are about browsing the public web, eesel AI is built for professional work. Its AI agents don't browse random websites; they work securely inside your company’s apps like Zendesk, Slack, and Confluence.

eesel AI learns from your company's private information, like old support tickets, help articles, and internal Google Docs, to handle customer support, answer employee questions, and sort tickets. It’s less of a browser and more like an AI teammate you can trust.

What I liked is that it's genuinely self-serve. You can sign up, connect your helpdesk with a click, and start building an agent without ever talking to a salesperson. It also fits right into the software your team already knows, so you don't have to change everything. A really standout feature is the risk-free simulation. You can test your agent on thousands of your past support tickets to see exactly how it would have performed. This lets you calculate your ROI before it ever interacts with a live customer. Because it learns from your private data, the answers are accurate and specific to your business.

The only real downside is that it’s built for business, so it’s not the right choice if you’re just looking to automate personal web browsing.

As for pricing, it's pretty straightforward. The plans are based on features, not how many issues it resolves, so your bill doesn't shoot up unexpectedly. The Team plan is $299/month, and the Business plan is $799/month, which unlocks the full AI agent that can train on past tickets and take action.

2. BrowserOS

If privacy and control are your top priorities, BrowserOS is a pretty interesting project. It’s an open-source browser based on Chromium, made specifically for running AI agents locally on your own computer. You can even hook it up to local LLMs with Ollama, so your data never has to leave your machine.

The biggest plus here is that it's fully open-source and puts privacy first. You can run it for free (just paying for electricity) and keep total control over your data. And since it's a Chromium fork, all your favorite Chrome extensions will work.

The catch? It’s maintained by a small team, which means it can fall behind Google on important security updates. That's a pretty big risk for your main browser. The user experience is fine, but it doesn't have the same polish as the bigger, commercially-backed options.

It's free to use. You only have to pay for API costs if you decide to connect it to a cloud model like GPT-4.

3. GPT Breeze

If you like the idea of AI agents but can't imagine leaving Chrome, GPT Breeze is worth a look. It's a simple Chrome extension that adds some handy AI shortcuts into your daily flow. It can summarize YouTube videos, rewrite text, or organize your tabs based on simple commands.

The great thing is you don't have to switch browsers; it just improves the setup you already use. It's also solid on privacy, since everything runs locally in your browser and you don't even need an account to start. The "Bring Your Own Key" (BYOK) model for connecting to an LLM can also be cheaper than a flat monthly subscription.

On the other hand, it's still just a browser extension, so it isn't as powerful as a full agentic browser. And of course, the most useful features, like creating your own custom prompts, are behind a paywall.

There's a good free tier that covers the basic shortcuts, with a premium plan for more advanced stuff.

4. Dia Browser

Dia comes from the same team that made the Arc browser, and it’s their take on an AI-native browsing experience. It has a clean, minimalist design and is built around "Skills," which are basically pre-made prompts that can interact with a webpage to do simple things.

The user interface is slick and easy on the eyes, and the "Skills" concept is a user-friendly way to think about automation.

The main downside is that it's mostly a wrapper for other companies' AI models (like OpenAI), which makes you wonder about its long-term value. It’s also still in a closed, invite-only beta, so good luck trying to use it right now.

There’s no public pricing yet since it isn't fully released.

5. OpenAI Atlas

It was really only a matter of time before OpenAI launched its own browser. Atlas is built to integrate the ChatGPT experience into everything you do online. It has the familiar chat sidebar, helps you write things inline, and has a powerful "agent mode" for taking actions for you.

If you're already a heavy ChatGPT user, the deep integration with the whole ecosystem, including memory and custom GPTs, is a huge plus. The interface is polished and will feel natural to anyone who's used ChatGPT before.

However, the privacy questions here are pretty big. For Atlas to work well, it needs access to a lot of your browsing history and personal data. It’s also open to "prompt injection" attacks, where a sneaky website could trick the agent into doing something you don't want it to do. Plus, it's only available on macOS for now.

The browser itself is free, but the good stuff is tied to paid ChatGPT plans. Agent Mode requires a Plus ($20/month) or Pro ($200/month) subscription.

How to choose the right AI agent: General vs. specialized

After playing around with all these tools, one thing became very clear. The right tool for you boils down to whether you need help with personal tasks or business automation.

• Left Side (General-Purpose): Titled "For Personal Tasks." Icons for public web (globe), shopping (cart), travel (airplane). Use cases listed: "Summarize articles," "Find best prices," "Book flights." Highlight a key limitation: "Cannot access private company data."

• Right Side (Specialized Business): Titled "For Business Automation." Icons for internal docs (document with lock), helpdesk (headset), Slack. Use cases listed: "Answer policy questions," "Triage support tickets," "Automate refunds." Highlight a key benefit: "Secure, accurate, and relevant answers from your company's knowledge."

General-Purpose AI Agents (like Comet, BrowserOS, Atlas): These are best for personal stuff and research on the public web. Think, "Summarize this article," "Find the best price for a new laptop," or "Book me a flight to Tokyo." The problem is they can't access your company's private, internal data, which makes them a bad and insecure fit for work tasks.

Specialized Business AI Agents (like eesel AI): These are built to automate internal business workflows. They securely connect to your private knowledge to answer questions like, "What's our refund policy?" or "Automatically handle all password reset tickets." The big advantage is that by focusing on your secure, internal information, they give answers that are way more accurate, relevant, and safe for a business environment.

The future is agentic: A final thought

Agentic browsers like Perplexity Comet give us a cool peek into a future where AI handles our digital grunt work. But for now, a lot of these tools feel experimental, have some privacy concerns, or ask you to completely change the way you work.

The most practical and valuable AI automation you can get today is specialized. For any business trying to reduce support costs, help their team work faster, and get instant answers from their own knowledge, the choice is pretty clear.

Instead of waiting for some perfect, all-in-one browser, you can solve real business problems today. eesel AI lets you build, test, and launch powerful AI agents for your support and internal teams in a matter of minutes, not months. You can start automating with confidence right now.