PayPal and Venmo Offer Free Access to Perplexity Pro and Comet AI Browser

Percy, the AI-based browser of Invites to Perplexity, has been heavily sought after since its release in July. In the early days, only Perplexity Max subscribers which were $200 a month and some invite-only users were allowed to access it.

PayPal has just broken another door now. The company said that PayPal and Venmo customers in the U.S. will also receive early access to Comet and a free one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro, typically $200 per year.

Not only does this action provide customers with an opportunity to test a much-anticipated product at no cost, but it also puts PayPal in a strategic position of linking individuals to developing Artificial Intelligence.

Why the Partnership Matters

At first glance, this partnership would be simply a co-marketing activity, but the effect would be even more significant. PayPal introduces Comet to millions of active users in the U.S., then to others around the world. In the case of Perplexity, this exposure arrives at a moment when AI agents and AI-driven browsers are losing market share to well-established giants, such as Chrome.

Through PayPal, Perplexity will have the quickest route to new users who otherwise would not have tried its premium service. In the meantime, PayPal can emphasize its expanding list of features, such as a new subscriptions hub that helps people more easily monitor and manage their recurring payments.

What PayPal Gains

In the case of PayPal, this collaboration cannot be reduced to issuing free invitations. This company is taking this opportunity to market its own app. The Comet invite and free subscription can only be claimed by customers using PayPal or Venmo, which helps to generate traffic on its platforms once again.

Simultaneously, PayPal is advertising its new subscriptions center. The latter enables the customers to access and update all their recurring payments in the exact location. PayPal is also running a promotion that would reward users with a $50 reward when they link and buy at least three subscriptions using its service. All of these advantages combine to make PayPal more loyal and more ingrained in the financial lives of customers.

What Perplexity Gains

The prize in the case of Perplexity, complex but trivial, is exposure. Comet is an emerging product in a market that is highly competitive. There is an effort to redefine how people search, shop and consume information using AI-driven browsers, but it cannot be easily ingrained in user behavior.

Perplexity can promote Comet to more people by accessing the vast customer base that PayPal has. Giving one year of free Perplexity Pro allows individuals to become accustomed to the platform and make it part of their everyday lives. Others will not cancel, and others will see sufficient value to continue paying after the free time is over. In any case, Perplexity will be able to attract long-term subscribers.

The Better Picture

The partnership also reflects the combination of AI and payments. At the beginning of this summer, PayPal collaborated with Perplexity to develop agentic commerce. This enabled the users to immediately check out using PayPal or Venmo when the AI of Perplexity assisted them in locating items, travel, or purchasing tickets. The new deal builds on that basis, with the tools of Perplexity being more readily available and PayPal being a bigger part of the AI ecosystem.

Availability and Rollout

It is currently offering it via PayPal and Venmo in the U.S. It will spread to other foreign markets in the coming months. An account is only allowed to claim an invite once, and currently active subscribers of Perplexity Pro are ineligible. Once the users have registered, they will be instructed to download and install the Comet browser.

The 12 months of free access will continue until 2025

PayPal-Perplexity transaction is the start of cooperation between financial services and AI providers in recruiting users and shaping further behavioral patterns. In the case of PayPal, it is an opportunity to increase the activity on its applications and new subscriptions portal. In the case of Perplexity, this is a chance to become visible in a saturated market and turn a greater number of users into long-term subscribers.

As AI-based browsers such as Comet look to shake up a previously monopolized market controlled by Chrome, such collaborations might play a critical role in determining which products emerge and who gets pushed to the background.