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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Some PayPal and Venmo users can now access Comet for free.
- The offer includes a one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro.
- Comet is Perplexity’s new AI-centric web browser.
PayPal and Venmo users in the US and other global markets can now receive early access to Perplexity’s highly anticipated Comet web browser, PayPal announced. The offer includes a 12-month free trial of Perplexity Pro, which normally has an annual subscription cost of $200.
Launched last month, Comet has been positioned by Perplexity as a more dynamic, intuitive, and agentic alternative to competitors like Chrome and Safari. The browser can also interact directly with your personal email, calendar, notes, or other online assets, provided you grant Perplexity access to view those files.
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Comet was initially released to subscribers of Perplexity Max, the company’s $200-a-month premium service, and also to a small group of early users who had signed up via a waitlist. PayPal’s new offer gives customers the chance to skip the waitlist and experience one year of Comet via Perplexity Pro free of charge.
The partnership could enable Perplexity to spread the word about its new browser by putting it in the hands of millions of PayPal and Venmo users across the US and elsewhere. Like most free trials, the idea is that the tool will become so embedded into many users’ daily lives that when the one-year period is up, a significant number will opt to pay to continue using Perplexity Pro.
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“The Comet browser is like a personal shopper and personal assistant all in one, so we’re excited that PayPal users will have early access to Comet,” Ryan Foutty, Perplexity’s VP of business, said in a statement. “In conjunction with Perplexity Pro, we’re arming PayPal and Venmo customers with powerful, accurate AI that’s useful throughout their daily lives.”
PayPal bought Venmo in 2013 as part of its $800 million acquisition of Braintree, the latter platform’s parent company.
Perplexity Pro can now be accessed directly via PayPal’s new subscriptions hub, an in-app feature that allows users to track and manage their subscriptions to various apps. These apps are organized into categories like entertainment, music, and news. The hub is currently available to US users and will be launched globally on September 22.
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PayPal and Venmo users in the US can sign up now for their free 12-month trial of Perplexity Pro through the respective apps. Users in Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Spain can access the free trial here.
