Perplexity Comet keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac

Q: Which key opens the Comet Assistant?

Alt + A on Windows and Option + A on a Mac open the Assistant panel next to the page you are on.

Q: How do I start Voice Mode in Comet from the keyboard?

Press Alt + Shift + V on Windows or Option + Shift + V on a Mac. The Voice Mode panel opens and starts listening; the toolbar icon does the same.

Q: Are Comet Shortcuts the same as keyboard shortcuts?

No. Shortcuts in Comet are saved prompts: type / in the search bar or the assistant, pick one, add detail if you like and submit. Key combinations are a separate thing, managed under Settings > Shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts for Comet, the AI browser from Perplexity, taken from the Comet Help Center. Perplexity publishes no single key list, so the rows are the combinations its articles print, with Windows and Mac side by side. The assistant keys use Alt on Windows and Option on a Mac: Alt + A opens the Assistant panel. The Chrome keymap that Comet inherits and the saved prompts Comet calls Shortcuts are left out.

13 shortcuts in 3 sections. Checked row by row against Perplexity Comet Help Center on 6 October 2026. Edited by Jay.

AI assistant 3

Comet also has a feature named Shortcuts: saved prompts that are listed when you type / in the search bar or the assistant. They are not key bindings.

Action	Windows	Mac
Open Assistant panelThe panel sits beside the page and can draw on the tab you are viewing, or on any tab mentioned with @.	`Alt`+`A`	`Option`+`A`
Start Voice ModeThe Voice Mode panel appears and listens at once; the toolbar icon does the same.	`Alt`+`Shift`+`V`	`Option`+`Shift`+`V`
Close Inline Assistant popupDismisses the floating result that Inline Assistant lays over the page after you pick an action for selected text.	`Esc`	`Esc`

Tabs and browsing 9

On Windows, Ctrl + Tab may already do something else: you choose between recent-tab cycling and the default tab cycling at comet://settings/shortcuts. On a Mac there is no conflict.

Other combinations are shown in the tooltip of each browser button and can be re-assigned under Settings > Shortcuts.

Perplexity states that Comet supports Chrome keyboard shortcuts but does not list them; this table holds only the keys its own articles print.

Action	Windows	Mac
New tab	`Ctrl`+`T`	`Cmd`+`T`
Close tab	`Ctrl`+`W`	`Cmd`+`W`
Cycle most recent tabsA quick tap swaps the two latest tabs; holding the modifier and tapping Tab again steps through a visual menu.	`Ctrl`+`Tab`	`Option`+`Tab`
Bookmark pageSame result as the Bookmarks entry in the dropdown menu at the top right.	`Ctrl`+`D`	`Cmd`+`D`
Open Download ManagerOpens the same manager as the Downloads icon in the toolbar; the Ctrl key is given for Windows and Linux.	`Ctrl`+`J`	`Cmd`+`J`
Open SettingsSettings is also where the Performance page with Energy Saver and Memory Saver lives.	`Ctrl`+`,`	`Cmd`+`,`
Zoom inMakes text, images and video larger; the Zoom line of the top-right dropdown menu offers the same step.	`Ctrl`+`+`	`Cmd`+`+`
Zoom outMakes text, images and video smaller; the top-right dropdown menu has the same step next to Zoom.	`Ctrl`+`-`	`Cmd`+`-`
Full screenF11 is given for Windows and Linux alike; the Mac combination needs both Control and Command.	`F11`	`Ctrl`+`Cmd`+`F`

Mac only 1

Action	Windows	Mac
Open tab in Split ViewClicking an inactive tab this way puts it beside the current one; the article prints no Windows key.	—	`Option`+`Click`

Notes

The assistant

Alt + A opens the Assistant panel beside the page (Option + A on a Mac). The panel can use the tab you are viewing, or any tab you mention with @. Alt + Shift + V starts Voice Mode, Option + Shift + V on a Mac, and the panel listens as soon as it opens. The Inline Assistant is a different thing: it appears when you select text, and Esc closes its result popup.

Shortcuts, the feature

Comet uses the word Shortcuts for saved prompts. Typing / in the search bar or the assistant lists them, and a chosen one does not run until you submit, so more text can be added first. They are created and edited in Settings. Because they are prompts and not key bindings, they have no rows in the table.

Tabs and the page

Ctrl + T opens a tab and Ctrl + W closes the current one. Recent-tab cycling is Option + Tab on a Mac; on Windows it is Ctrl + Tab, which has to be chosen at comet://settings/shortcuts because that key may already be assigned. Ctrl + D bookmarks the page, Ctrl + J opens the Download Manager and Ctrl + , opens Settings. Full screen is F11 on Windows and Linux and Ctrl + Cmd + F on a Mac.

What Perplexity does not list

Comet is built on Chromium, and its accessibility article says Chrome keyboard shortcuts are supported, but Perplexity does not print that list. The Help Center points to two places for the rest: the tooltip of each browser button shows its combination, and Settings > Shortcuts lets you re-assign them. Keys that used to be on this page without a Perplexity source, such as a summarize key and a tab-search key, have been removed.

Questions

Which key opens the Comet Assistant?

Alt + A on Windows and Option + A on a Mac open the Assistant panel next to the page you are on.

How do I start Voice Mode in Comet from the keyboard?

Press Alt + Shift + V on Windows or Option + Shift + V on a Mac. The Voice Mode panel opens and starts listening; the toolbar icon does the same.

Why does Ctrl+Tab not switch to my most recent tab on Windows?

On Windows that key may be assigned to the default tab cycling. Open comet://settings/shortcuts, find Cycle most recent tabs and choose which behaviour you want. On a Mac the key is Option + Tab and needs no setup.

Are Comet Shortcuts the same as keyboard shortcuts?

No. Shortcuts in Comet are saved prompts: type / in the search bar or the assistant, pick one, add detail if you like and submit. Key combinations are a separate thing, managed under Settings > Shortcuts.

Where does Comet show its other key combinations?

Perplexity says the exact combination appears in the tooltip when you hover over a browser button, and that Settings > Shortcuts (comet://settings/shortcuts) lists them and lets you re-assign them.

Do Chrome shortcuts work in Comet?

Perplexity's accessibility article says Comet supports Chrome keyboard shortcuts, without listing them. This page keeps to the keys Perplexity prints itself.

Sources and checks

Perplexity Comet Help Center — Key Settings to Get You Going Assistant panel key and the new-tab and close-tab keys.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Voice Mode Voice Mode key for Mac and Windows.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Personalizing Comet Zoom, full screen and bookmark keys.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Cycle Most Recent Tabs Recent-tab switching keys and how to turn them on.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Safe Downloads Download Manager key.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — How can I extend my laptop’s battery life while browsing? Settings key.

4 more source pages

Perplexity Comet Help Center — Split-view Mode Option + Click for Split View.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Inline Assistant Esc for the Inline Assistant popup.
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Comet Query Shortcuts The saved-prompt feature called Shortcuts, and where Comet shows and re-assigns its hotkeys (table notes).
Perplexity Comet Help Center — Accessibility on Comet Statement that Chrome keyboard shortcuts are supported (table note).

Every row on this page was matched to a line in the documentation above on 6 October 2026. A binding that could not be found there is not listed.

9 rows from the earlier version of this page were removed in that check: duplicates, and bindings the documentation does not list or lists differently.

Found a wrong or missing key? Tell us and it gets checked against the source. How we verify describes the process and its limits.