Perplexity launches Perplexity Computer, a cloud AI agent for Max users

In short: Perplexity launched Perplexity Computer on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, a cloud-based AI agent tool available only to Perplexity Max subscribers.

What happened

Perplexity has introduced Perplexity Computer, which it describes as a general-purpose “digital worker.” Instead of answering one question at a time, it is designed to carry out longer tasks like research, writing code, analyzing data, generating documents, and making charts or simple websites.

The product runs in the cloud, meaning the work happens on Perplexity’s servers, not on your own computer. Perplexity says this approach reduces some security risks that can come from tools that directly control a user’s device and files.

Perplexity Computer coordinates 19 different AI models (AI models are like different specialist “brains” trained for different kinds of work). Perplexity says it uses Claude for the main planning and decision-making, Google’s Gemini for deeper research, other Google models for images and video, xAI’s Grok for lighter tasks, and ChatGPT for handling long histories of information.

This launch is also a correction to some early descriptions that framed the product as a local “Personal Computer” that runs on a spare Mac at home. Perplexity Computer, as launched, is cloud-only and does not run on user hardware.

Why it matters

For regular people, the big change is convenience and cost. If it works as described, it could feel more like assigning a project to a coworker than chatting with a bot, but access is currently limited to the $200 per month Perplexity Max plan. Perplexity says it plans to expand access to other tiers, including Pro and Enterprise.

Source: The Verge AI