Perplexity debuts Computer, a new tool for complex workflows

Perplexity has launched Perplexity Computer, an agentic tool—AI software capable of executing workflows independently—designed to unify AI capabilities. According to the company, the tool unifies every current AI capability into a single system by orchestrating 19 different AI models to execute complex workflows. The tool is currently available only on the company’s highest subscription tier, the $200/month Perplexity Max. Because Perplexity Computer runs entirely in the cloud, the source notes that this setup might spare it from the security concerns associated with other agentic tools like OpenClaw.

The launch marks a strategic shift for Perplexity, which abandoned its advertising business late last year to focus on enterprise subscriptions. During a background briefing with executives last week, leadership emphasized targeting a boutique user base rather than chasing mass-market scale like OpenAI, which has 800 million weekly users. While Perplexity has tens of millions of users, its executives are prioritizing deep research. As one Perplexity executive explained, “You don’t hear us talk about MAUs ever, because we’re not actually on a mission to get as many users as possible,” referring to Monthly Active Users. To support this focus, the company recently highlighted its Draco benchmark, asserting that it beats Gemini in complex research tasks.

Executives argue that a multi-model approach is the future, allowing the system to automatically select the best model for specific tasks. For example, in December 2025, queries for visual outputs were most often sent to Gemini Flash, while software engineering was routed to Claude Sonnet 4.5 and medical research to GPT-5.1. Perplexity also claims it is no longer reliant on other companies’ APIs for its web index. To optimize queries, the company uses modified open source Chinese-built LLMs—a technique for which the company got dinged for hiding from its customers last year. However, the source notes that doing this transparently could prove an efficient optimization strategy.

Looking ahead, the company plans to bring its Comet browser to iOS next month and will host its developers conference, Ask, on March 11 in San Francisco. The company is preparing for these upcoming releases as it shifts its product strategy. Addressing recent user complaints regarding service degradation, a Perplexity executive dismissed the rumors, stating that any discussions on the free tier being made worse or rate-limited are completely false.

Why it matters

Perplexity is evolving its product strategy by launching an agentic tool that orchestrates multiple AI models, signaling a shift toward enterprise-focused research and away from advertising-supported models.