If you’re as old as me, you remember when Netscape ruled the web, until Microsoft buried it with Internet Explorer (which has since been rebranded as Edge), which was then slowly eaten alive by Chrome. It’s been a while since anyone seriously challenged the browser status quo… until now.
Between Comet (from the folks at Perplexity) and ChatGPT with browsing enabled, we’re not just talking about new browsers; we’re talking about replacements for the whole concept of browsing. These tools don’t just help you find links. They summarize, compare, cite, and even interact with websites for you. Ask ChatGPT to find the best hotel in Wailea next weekend, and it doesn’t send you to ten OTA tabs; it just tells you.
Comet pushes this further with its built-in assistant that reads articles, manages tabs, and automates tasks inside the browser itself. It’s light, private, and yes, still buggy. But the direction is clear: the old browser is starting to feel like the PDF of the internet, technically useful, but a bit stale.
I’ve been playing with Comet (got an early invite), and it’s impressive. The built-in assistant is genuinely useful, and the ability to summarize pages, manage tabs, and even take simple actions feels like a peek at what web browsing should be. It’s less about search and more about delegation, and that’s a big shift.
For hoteliers, marketers, and anyone who relies on search to drive bookings, this is not a passing trend. It is the future. AI is reshaping how people search and what they see. If your hotel isn’t built into the new conversation, it risks disappearing from view altogether.
If you are interested in trying Comet, you can check it out here: https://www.perplexity.ai/comet.
