When the product demo shows outcomes instead of features, you’re watching category marketing—not product marketing.
Perplexity released a product video for Comet’s Android launch on 20 November. It’s 65 seconds long. No celebrity voiceover, no fancy graphics—just screen recordings of someone using a browser to shop on Poshmark, quiz themselves on Kepler’s laws, and read articles about supply chains. And yet, this simple demo represents something much bigger than a new browser entering a crowded market. It shows that the rules of browser marketing have fundamentally changed—and most brands haven’t noticed yet.
For marketers paying attention, this moment matters. Not because Perplexity will beat Chrome overnight (it won’t), but because the video shows how outcome-based product storytelling is replacing feature-focused marketing. If it works for browsers—a product type so common that most users can’t explain why they prefer one over another—it can work for almost anything.
Why this video landed differently
The browser wars are back, but the fight has changed. Google Chrome still controls over 60% of the global browser market. Microsoft Edge, Safari, Firefox, and Brave have their own user bases. OpenAI just launched ChatGPT Atlas in October. Opera has added AI features. The competitive field is more crowded than ever.
Yet Perplexity’s video doesn’t mention Chrome once. It doesn’t compare speed, memory usage, or extensions. There’s no privacy messaging or “we’re the underdog” positioning. Instead, it shows someone asking Comet to “open an article in the Meridian Standard with an alternative take on this topic” while reading a Fortune piece about supply chains. Then Comet executes that task across open tabs without the user losing focus.
That’s the entire pitch. Not “we’re faster” or “we’re more private” or “we work with your ecosystem.” Just: we understand what you’re trying to do, and we help you do it without jumping between apps.
This is smart, outcome-driven marketing. And it works because it avoids the endless feature competition that has made browser marketing so dull over the past ten years.
The zero-click problem that marketers ignore
Here’s why this launch matters right now: the web is changing for marketers, and most are ignoring it.
AI Overviews appear in 13.14% of searches, and when they do, click-through rates to websites drop by 34.5%. News publishers saw monthly visits fall from 2.3 billion to 1.7 billion in under a year.
This isn’t just a trend. It’s a major shift. And AI browsers like Comet are speeding this up. These browsers bring together information across tabs and give users answers without forcing them to click to different websites.
For content marketers, SEO professionals, and anyone whose job depends on driving traffic to websites, this is a big problem. The old playbook—rank highly, earn clicks, convert visitors—is breaking down. Google’s AI Mode and AI summaries are turning search engines into answer engines. Users get what they need without leaving the search results.
Perplexity didn’t create this problem. Google did, when it started prioritising featured snippets, knowledge panels, and AI Overviews. But Perplexity’s Comet is making this shift faster by making multi-source summaries and cross-tab intelligence standard features. The video celebrates this, not hides it. And that’s why it appeals to users tired of opening multiple tabs.
Breaking down how the video works
Product demo videos can boost conversion rates by up to 85% when done right.
Pages with video lift conversions by 80%, and email click-through rates jump 300% with demo videos. But most product videos fail because they get the order wrong—they talk about features before outcomes.
Comet’s video does the opposite. It starts with a real task: someone shopping for a silk scarf on Poshmark while researching supply chain problems. Then it shows Comet pulling a key takeaway from a Fortune article for a meeting. Not “here’s our summarisation feature.” But “here’s how you use this before a meeting.”
This is contextual marketing—showing the product inside the real workflow where users need it. The demo builds in steps:
- Simple task: “What’s a concrete takeaway from this article?”
- Comparing sources: “Open an alternative take from another outlet”
- Interactive learning: “Quiz me on Kepler’s laws based on this textbook”
Each step creates trust for the next one. By the time viewers see Comet quizzing someone on planetary motion, they already accept that it can summarise and compare sources. The learning demo doesn’t feel like extra clutter—it feels like the natural next step.
This is how to market a product in a crowded market.
You don’t claim to be better at what everyone else does. You demonstrate that you’re solving a different problem entirely.
Interestingly, Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.5 launch used a similar approach. Instead of listing stats and scores, they showed what the software could actually do. Comet’s video follows the same pattern: show, don’t just tell.
Why Android first makes sense
Launching on Android before iOS is unusual for a US startup. Most consumer tech companies launch iOS first because it generates more revenue and locks users in more easily. But Perplexity chose Android for a different reason: distribution and market strategy.
Over 65% of AI browser adoption happens in the Asia-Pacific region. India is a massive growth market, and Android dominates mobile there. By launching Android first, Perplexity reaches emerging markets and business pilots in Southeast Asia. These are areas where Google and Apple haven’t focused much on AI-native products.
This is a smart market entry strategy. First, build distribution through carrier partnerships (Perplexity has done this—carriers asked for Comet integration). Then, build user habits in markets with less browser loyalty. Finally, expand to mainstream Western consumers once the product is proven.
The AI browser market is growing fast. It will grow from USD 2.13 billion in 2024 to USD 15.04 billion by 2032, at a growth rate of 27.7%. Business adoption accounts for 76.8% of deployments, and native AI browsers (like Comet) represent 45.7% of usage compared to extension-based tools at 30%. Perplexity positions itself in the winning category while competitors like Chrome’s Gemini integration struggle against the perception of being retrofitted.
Additionally, Android-first signals that Comet isn’t trying to replace Chrome entirely. It’s a focused productivity tool for research, task automation, and bringing together multiple sources. It’s meant to complement existing workflows, not replace them. This avoids the perception of being “just another Chrome alternative” and instead positions Comet as a different tool for different jobs.
What the video leaves out (and why it matters)
The video is good, but it omits some important value propositions. There’s no discussion of privacy architecture, even though there’s mention of the built-in ad blocker. Privacy and keeping data safe are increasingly essential for business adoption, and Comet’s hybrid architecture that processes some data locally could set it apart from competitors. Yet the video doesn’t highlight this.
Moreover, Comet doesn’t sync history or bookmarks across devices, which is a real problem compared to Chrome. This is a major friction point for users considering a complete switch. For a product marketed as a research and productivity tool, the lack of cross-device continuity is a significant limitation that the video doesn’t address.
Furthermore, the video focuses mainly on consumer use cases—shopping, summarising articles, learning. However, business adoption is driving AI browser growth. Showing API access, automation capabilities, or CRM integration could have attracted a wider audience. Perplexity has the credibility to attract business customers (valued at USD 20 billion with over USD 150 million in annual revenue), but the video doesn’t make that argument.
These aren’t deal-breakers. They’re deliberate choices to keep the message simple and consumer-focused. However, as Comet grows, future marketing will need to address these gaps. This is especially true if Perplexity wants to reach the 76.8% of AI browser usage happening in businesses.
Why category marketing wins over feature marketing
Here’s the key lesson for marketers: when a product type becomes common, the winners aren’t the ones with better features—they’re the ones who change how people think about the category.
Chrome won the second browser war by being quicker and integrating better with Google’s services. But speed and integration are now basic expectations. Every major browser is fast. Every major browser integrates with something. Competing on these points is pointless.
Perplexity’s video works because it changes the frame. It positions Comet not as “a better browser” but as “a different way to think while browsing.” That’s category marketing, not product marketing. And it works because it gives users permission to want something different rather than forcing them to justify switching based on tiny improvements.
Here’s the playbook for any marketer in a crowded category:
Stop competing on features that everyone already has. Instead, show outcomes your competitors can’t deliver without rebuilding from scratch.
Chrome can’t easily replicate Comet’s cross-tab synthesis without redesigning its entire system. Safari can’t add agentic browsing without changing its privacy model. Firefox and Brave don’t have the resources to compete on AI. Perplexity has a structural advantage—it’s AI-native from the ground up, not adding intelligence to old architecture.
The video makes this advantage clear without saying it explicitly. That’s the sign of smart marketing.
This approach echoes what I found in my analysis of September’s smartphone marketing chaos, where brands got lost in feature competition instead of solving real user problems.
How to apply this to your marketing
If you’re marketing a product in a crowded category—SaaS tools, electronics, business software, whatever—here’s what Perplexity’s video teaches:
Start with the workflow, not the feature. Show your product inside the real context where users need it.
Don’t show it on a white background with a list of specs. Instead, demonstrate smooth continuity—the feeling that your product understands what the user wants to accomplish, not just what button they clicked.
Build trust gradually. Don’t throw all your features at viewers in the first 10 seconds. Structure your demo as a series of growing capabilities, where each interaction builds confidence for the next. Start simple, then go complex. Let viewers decide “this is powerful” themselves, rather than telling them upfront.
Change the category if you can. If you’re competing in a space where everyone claims to be “faster” or “easier” or “more secure,” find a different angle. What outcome can you deliver that your competitors structurally can’t? That’s your positioning. Everything else is extra.
Lastly, if you’re in a market disrupted by zero-click search, AI summaries, or any other major shift in how users behave, stop optimising for the old game. Traffic won’t come back. Clicks aren’t returning. Instead, optimise for visibility, influence, and credibility rather than funnels that rely on direct traffic.
Build for the world where users get answers without visiting your site. Then figure out how to stay relevant anyway.
Perplexity’s video succeeds because it’s marketing for the world we’re entering, not the one we want back.
Most browser marketing still fights the old war—speed, privacy, extensions. Comet’s marketing fights the new one: who helps users think better while browsing, not just browse faster.
That’s the difference between product marketing and category marketing.
And in a zero-click world, category marketing is what actually works at scale.