Perplexity, the search engine, reached 780 million user queries in May. CEO Aravind Srinivas shared the news onstage at Bloomberg’s Tech Summit on June 5.
He noted that the company has been growing by over 20 percent month-over-month. Just two years ago, Perplexity handled only 3,000 queries on its first day.
Today, it processes around 30 million queries daily. Srinivas said that if this pace continues, the platform could soon reach one billion queries per week.
Rethinking Search
When it comes to online search, many users no longer want long lists of links. They want fast, direct answers, and AI search engines like Perplexity now offer that.
Instead of digging through pages, users get the information they need in seconds. Srinivas explained that one AI answer can replace four or five traditional searches.
This efficiency is part of what’s driving Perplexity’s rapid rise.
Comet
Perplexity’s next big step is the launch of its own browser, called Comet. But this isn’t just another Chrome or Safari.
According to Srinivas, Comet is being built from the ground up to support a different kind of online experience. And it will launch in the coming weeks.
Cognitive Operating System
Srinivas described Comet as a “cognitive operating system.” This means it’s designed to work alongside users throughout the day.
It’s meant to stay active in the background, always ready to help. He emphasized that every action in Comet (search bar entries and side panel use) can increase user engagement.
The browser will remember what you do and will learn from it to anticipate user needs.
Building for Today’s Internet Lifestyle
People no longer visit the internet a few times a day; many now live on it. Work, school, entertainment, and daily errands all happen online.
Srinivas believes that tools like Comet must match that reality. A reactive tool isn’t enough; the future, he says, belongs to proactive AI.
To support that, Comet will blend computing on both the client and server sides. That hybrid model allows the browser to be faster, more responsive, and more efficient.
Ads Are Part of the Plan
One goal behind Comet is to track user activity beyond Perplexity’s current app to help the company build a premium ad system.
Srinivas compared the strategy to what helped Google dominate online ads. By gathering more context, Perplexity can show smarter, more relevant ads.
