Complete an online course assignment in the browser
When Perplexity AI’s Aravind Srinivas announced in September that students could use the company’s $200 Comet browser for free, the pitch was clear: a study buddy that helps you “find answers faster than ever before.” But just weeks later, Srinivas is having to remind students not to let that study buddy do all the work. Task: When Perplexity AI’s Aravind Srinivas announced in September that students could use the company’s $200 Comet browser for free, the pitch was clear: a study buddy that helps you “find answers faster than ever before.” But just weeks later, Srinivas is having to remind students not to let that study buddy do all the work. The warning came after a post on X showed a developer using Comet to complete an entire Coursera assignment in seconds. In the 16-second clip, Comet breezes through what appears to be a 45-minute web design assignment with the prompt “Complete the assignment.” The user proudly tagged both Perplexity and Srinivas, writing, “Just completed my Coursera course.” The 31-year-old CEO responded to the video with just four words: “Absolutely don’t do this.” Srinivas’s terse public reprimand comes as AI seeps deeper into classrooms and tech firms aggressively market their products to students under the banner of “learning support.” Perplexity’s free student offer joins a wave of similar initiatives from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic—all touting their bots as tutors, study buddies, or productivity boosters. But educators say those tools are increasingly being used to bypass learning altogether. Many students are simply using AI to generate essays, ace quizzes, or automate full courses, undermining the very skills those platforms claim to enhance. Comet, in particular, is well set up to do students’ work for them—it’s not your average chatbot. Built by Perplexity as what it calls an “agentic” AI browser, it’s designed to do more than just spit out text: It can interpret your instructions, take actions on your behalf, fill out forms, and navigate complex workflows. That level of autonomy enables Comet to churn through assignments in seconds, but it also introduces new risks when deployed. Security audits from Brave and Guardio have flagged serious vulnerabilities. In some cases, Comet can execute hidden instructions embedded in web-page content—essentially allowing “prompt injection” attacks that override its intended behavior. One especially alarming case, dubbed CometJacking by researchers at LayerX, lets a crafted URL hijack the browser and cause it to exfiltrate private data like emails and calendar entries. In audits by Guardio, Comet was tricked into making fraudulent purchases from fake sites—completing entire checkout flows without human verification. It also mishandled phishing scenarios: When presented with malicious links disguised as legitimate requests, the AI processed them as valid tasks. At the same time, Comet’s capabilities are precisely what make it so useful in academic cheating scenarios. It’s designed to act, not just advise, which means that “studying support” can shift into “doing the work for you.” That shift is evident in the Coursera video, and it reframes most debates about AI in education: It’s no longer just about content generation (essays or summaries), but about automation in form and function.; tools: Perplexity Comet. Human role: The original post does not say how a person stayed involved.; limitations: Prerequisites include access to the Comet browser and compatible web platforms. Significant security constraints exist: audits by Brave, Guardio, and LayerX revealed vulnerabilities to prompt injection, data exfiltration via 'CometJacking,' and fraudulent purchase execution. Human approval is critical to prevent unauthorized actions or academic integrity violations..
Tools
Published on Agent Work Atlas:
Overview
When Perplexity AI’s Aravind Srinivas announced in September that students could use the company’s $200 Comet browser for free, the pitch was clear: a study buddy that helps you “find answers faster than ever before.” But just weeks later, Srinivas is having to remind students not to let that study buddy do all the work.
Workflow
When Perplexity AI’s Aravind Srinivas announced in September that students could use the company’s $200 Comet browser for free, the pitch was clear: a study buddy that helps you “find answers faster than ever before.” But just weeks later, Srinivas is having to remind students not to let that study buddy do all the work. The warning came after a post on X showed a developer using Comet to complete an entire Coursera assignment in seconds. In the 16-second clip, Comet breezes through what appears to be a 45-minute web design assignment with the prompt “Complete the assignment.” The user proudly tagged both Perplexity and Srinivas, writing, “Just completed my Coursera course.” The 31-year-old CEO responded to the video with just four words: “Absolutely don’t do this.” Srinivas’s terse public reprimand comes as AI seeps deeper into classrooms and tech firms aggressively market their products to students under the banner of “learning support.” Perplexity’s free student offer joins a wave of similar initiatives from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic—all touting their bots as tutors, study buddies, or productivity boosters. But educators say those tools are increasingly being used to bypass learning altogether. Many students are simply using AI to generate essays, ace quizzes, or automate full courses, undermining the very skills those platforms claim to enhance. Comet, in particular, is well set up to do students’ work for them—it’s not your average chatbot. Built by Perplexity as what it calls an “agentic” AI browser, it’s designed to do more than just spit out text: It can interpret your instructions, take actions on your behalf, fill out forms, and navigate complex workflows. That level of autonomy enables Comet to churn through assignments in seconds, but it also introduces new risks when deployed. Security audits from Brave and Guardio have flagged serious vulnerabilities. In some cases, Comet can execute hidden instructions embedded in web-page content—essentially allowing “prompt injection” attacks that override its intended behavior. One especially alarming case, dubbed CometJacking by researchers at LayerX, lets a crafted URL hijack the browser and cause it to exfiltrate private data like emails and calendar entries. In audits by Guardio, Comet was tricked into making fraudulent purchases from fake sites—completing entire checkout flows without human verification. It also mishandled phishing scenarios: When presented with malicious links disguised as legitimate requests, the AI processed them as valid tasks. At the same time, Comet’s capabilities are precisely what make it so useful in academic cheating scenarios. It’s designed to act, not just advise, which means that “studying support” can shift into “doing the work for you.” That shift is evident in the Coursera video, and it reframes most debates about AI in education: It’s no longer just about content generation (essays or summaries), but about automation in form and function.
Reported result
Actual outcomes are not measured in the source, but a viral video demonstrated Comet completing a 45-minute web design assignment in seconds. However, this success is framed negatively by Perplexity's CEO, who responded with 'Absolutely don't do this.' The result highlights a shift from content generation to full task automation, which educators argue undermines learning skills.
Human role
The original post does not say how a person stayed involved.
Limitations
Prerequisites include access to the Comet browser and compatible web platforms. Significant security constraints exist: audits by Brave, Guardio, and LayerX revealed vulnerabilities to prompt injection, data exfiltration via 'CometJacking,' and fraudulent purchase execution. Human approval is critical to prevent unauthorized actions or academic integrity violations.
Try it
I want to test the automation capabilities of Perplexity Comet on a non-critical, public web form to understand its agentic behavior without violating academic integrity. [replaceable inputs: URL of a simple public survey or feedback form, specific field values to enter]. Please perform the following steps: 1. Open the specified URL in Comet. 2. Identify the form fields and input the provided values. 3. Stop before clicking 'Submit' and show me a screenshot of the filled form. 4. List any potential security risks observed, such as hidden instructions or unexpected navigation. 5. Wait for my explicit confirmation before proceeding with submission. Do not attempt to complete any graded assignments or private accounts. If the form is complex or requires login, abort and report the reason. This is a dry run to assess tool reliability and safety boundaries.
Source reports are not independently verified. Publication date is the catalog publication date, not the original article date.