A major inflection point for online retail arrived in October 2025 as Perplexity made its AI-powered web browser, Comet, free and accessible to users worldwide. Previously offered only to Perplexity Max subscribers at a hefty $200 per month, Comet’s free rollout aims to accelerate adoption just as Google responds by bringing its Gemini AI model to Chrome, signaling an intensifying arms race over the future of browsing and product discovery.
Comet versus Traditional Search: The AI-First Paradigm
Unlike routine search engines that simply organize and rank links, Comet reimagines the web browser as an always-on assistant—a platform that summarizes results, answers questions, compares products, and even assists in shopping. Rather than focusing on blue-link rankings, it provides instant, curated recommendations and answers, directly responding to user prompts. This shift threatens to upend long-standing SEO and retail media strategies that have been tightly coupled to Google-driven product discovery.
Perplexity’s Comet represents an “AI-first” experience, designed not to augment, but to actually replace, conventional keyword search. Its interface emphasizes concise answers and task execution, reducing the need to click through traditional search listings. If Comet gains traction, it could disrupt SEO and traditional search strategies for online retailers, potentially driving significant changes across the retail industry.
The Challenge for Retailers: SEO and Organic Traffic Decline
For online businesses, the implications are profound. Historically, retailers built visibility through keyword optimization, sponsored search, and organic rankings on Google—strategies that delivered consistent customer traffic and sales. With AI browsers like Comet summarizing and recommending products directly, the “gateway” function of a search engine erodes, and retailers may quickly find themselves invisible to consumers unless they rethink how they structure and present their content.
SEO, paid search, and retail media networks are built around this behavior model. AI browsers like Comet challenge that paradigm by delivering curated answers and recommendations directly, bypassing conventional listings. This means that optimized product data, conversational content, and transparent specifications will be necessary to ensure that products are chosen by the AI in response to customer questions.
Google’s Response: Gemini AI Integration for Chrome
Simultaneously, Google is racing to defend its dominance, integrating Gemini AI into Chrome after an initial announcement in May 2025 and wide rollout in September. However, this strategy seeks to enhance rather than fundamentally change familiar browsing and search workflows—possibly buying time for retailers clinging to legacy strategies. In contrast, Perplexity’s vision and Comet’s roll-out “prioritizes answers over links, which could significantly reduce organic traffic for retailers dependent on Google rankings.”
The Rise of Zero-Click Commerce and the Future of Engagement
The transition toward AI browsers like Comet signals the acceleration of “zero-click commerce,” where product discovery, comparison, and purchase all happen within a seamless AI-powered session—often without a single click through to a traditional e-commerce site. The user asks, the assistant answers, and even checks out products, compressing the sales funnel and drastically reducing the window for organic retailer discovery.
While this presents both threat and opportunity, the article notes that early adopters will have an advantage: “Retailers that adapt early by optimising content for AI readability, emphasising transparent product specs, and leveraging conversational commerce will gain a competitive edge.” Brands must experiment with AI-first content strategies, including conversation-optimized FAQs, rich product descriptions, and integrations that enable their data to be fed into these new AI environments.
The Browser as an Intelligent Engagement Layer
More broadly, Comet’s move illustrates a growing industry trend: browsers are becoming powerful AI engagement layers that shape every facet of the online journey. As the article asserts, “this could mean fewer clicks, shorter paths to purchase, and a new battleground for consumer attention,” placing pressure on brands to deliver truly answer-first, assistant-friendly experiences.
In this new reality, retailers who fail to optimize for AI browsers and zero-click solutions risk being phased out of product discovery altogether. With Comet’s free global rollout, the countdown has started for brands to future-proof their online visibility within this rapidly shifting, AI-driven landscape.
