Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas takes shot at Google, calls it ‘a giant bureaucratic organization,’ says company has ‘too many…’
During a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Wednesday, Srinivas said Google’s ad-based business model doesn’t fit well with the future of AI agents.
In the growing battle of AI-powered web browsers, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas has openly questioned Google’s ability to keep up. During a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Wednesday, Srinivas said Google’s ad-based business model doesn’t fit well with the future of AI agents — smart tools that browse and make decisions for users.
“Google relies on users clicking ads. But if AI agents do the browsing, there are fewer human eyes on those ads,” Srinivas said. He added that Google faces a tough choice: protect its ad revenue or embrace AI-driven change.
While Google has been testing AI features, Srinivas believes its size and internal structure slow it down. “It’s a giant bureaucratic organization,” he wrote, saying the company has “too many decision makers and disjoint teams.”
Perplexity’s own browser, Comet, launched on July 9 and works on a different idea — that AI should work for users, not advertisers. Comet is currently invite-only and available to Perplexity’s top-tier subscribers, costing $200 a month or $2,000 a year. The company says a free version will come soon.
According to Business Insider, Comet’s product lead, Leonid Persiantsev, said the team is kept small “to stay nimble and fast.” Despite using Google’s open-source Chromium base, Perplexity aims to challenge Google’s dominance. “Enough of the monopoly of Google,” Srinivas said.
He also expects Google to copy or borrow from Comet, just as big companies often do when smaller rivals innovate. He pointed to Google’s Project Mariner, which he claims is “similar but limited” compared to Comet.
