Perplexity Lets AI Take Over Chrome: The Logged-in State Is a Shortcut—and the Biggest Pitfall

Perplexity's Computer can now directly operate Chrome on your local machine. The requirement is a new extension: install Computer in the Perplexity desktop app on Mac or Windows, then add the Perplexity extension from the Chrome Web Store, and go into settings to point Connectors (Mac) or Permissions (Windows) to the corresponding browser. After that, give Computer a task that requires the web, and it can open sites, read pages, fill out forms, and pull data across tabs in your own Chrome.

It solves the biggest pain point: login. Most agents don't fail because they can't click buttons; they get stuck at the login wall. The extension lets Computer reuse sites where you're already logged in, so it can get into email, feeds, dashboards, and internal tools. In the official demo, Computer organizes merchant reviews into a prioritized list of fixes and responses. One commenter said merchants spend time collecting feedback but don't know how to use it, so turning it into a to-do list is more practical.

But this is also a risk. What you're giving the agent isn't a blank browser; it's a browser already logged into Gmail, billing backends, and CRM. The official explanation says Computer uses the browser only when you start a task, acts only in the specified browser, and does not collect browsing data in the background. Comet doesn't need this extension. You still have to draw the security boundaries yourself. Commenters Mladen Lotar and Quentin Felice both recommend a separate Chrome profile that only logs into the accounts needed for the task. Commenter Luke Skyworker worries that hidden text on a page could trick the agent into reading Gmail. That concern isn't abstract—this is exactly where the prompt injection surface for browser agents lies. Another commenter asked whether an allowlist can be set by site.

The installation steps aren't complicated: first install the Computer desktop app, then add the extension, then in Computer settings confirm that the selected browser matches the browser where the extension is installed, and finally give it a task that requires the web. Chromium browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Arc all work. The extension store page shows 7,000 users, a 5.0 rating, 7 reviews, version 0.0.6, updated on October 26. Don't treat these numbers as a conclusion; they only show that it's still early.

More worth noting is the permission design. The logged-in state is the ticket for an agent to truly enter the workflow, and also the starting point for permission management. If you want to try it, give it a separate profile first, then decide which sites it's allowed to touch. The extension address is here: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/perplexity/pninphncmkphpjgfffammoenglghcjii

Original tweet: https://x.com/AravSrinivas/status/2116186492758577575

Official explainer tweet: https://x.com/AskPerplexity/status/2116183470439620676