Perplexity is introducing a significant advancement for its subscribers this week with the launch of Perplexity Computer, an agentic tool exclusively available on its highest subscription tier, Perplexity Max, priced at $200 per month. This innovative system aims to unify every existing AI capability into a single, cohesive platform. Described as a computer user agent, Perplexity Computer is engineered to autonomously execute intricate workflows utilizing 19 distinct AI models, even going as far as to create specialized subagents to address specific problems. Operating entirely in the cloud, this design choice potentially mitigates some of the security concerns associated with other agentic tools. While a hands-on demo was not provided to the press, Perplexity's website showcases its ability to handle diverse tasks, including the collection of statistical, financial, or legal data, comprehensive analysis, and the presentation of findings as polished websites or visualizations.

The introduction of Perplexity Computer marks a pivotal moment in the company's evolution, which initially gained traction in the AI boom by integrating frontier models into intuitive user interfaces, notably its search-engine-like answer service. This was followed by the launch of its Comet web browser. Despite a recent setback where a planned demonstration of the new tool for the press was canceled due to identified flaws, Perplexity executives emphasized the company's evolving position in the AI ecosystem. An executive noted that competitors, such as Google, have begun to adapt their products to mirror Perplexity's earlier innovations, a development viewed as both a compliment and a competitive challenge.

In response to a shifting landscape, Perplexity has undergone a significant strategic pivot. The company abandoned its advertising business late last year, citing that it undermined user trust in the accuracy of its answers. With a total user base in the tens of millions, which pales in comparison to OpenAI's claimed 800 million weekly users, Perplexity is now targeting a more specialized, 'boutique' set of users. Executives, who preferred anonymity during a recent briefing, articulated a focus on individuals making 'GDP-moving decisions' and prioritizing enterprise subscriptions, particularly for deep research. This shift signals a move away from pursuing maximum user acquisition, with one executive stating, 'You don’t hear us talk about MAUs ever, because we’re not actually on a mission to get as many users as possible.' The company is now keenly focused on revenue metrics.

Technologically, Perplexity has also advanced, moving beyond reliance on other companies’ APIs for its web index by developing its own AI-optimized search API. The company is doubling down on integrating frontier models within a user-friendly experience, advocating that orchestrating multiple third-party Large Language Models (LLMs) is crucial for achieving the most cost-effective and accurate answers. This 'multi-model is the future' philosophy is rooted in the belief that models are specializing rather than becoming commoditized. Internal data reveals users frequently switch between models to achieve desired results, with December 2025 queries for visual outputs often directed to Gemini Flash, software engineering tasks to Claude Sonnet 4.5, and medical research to GPT-5.1.

Perplexity's software is designed to automatically select the optimal LLM for a given task, such as choosing one model for coding and another for marketing copy. The company also employs modified open-source Chinese-built LLMs for more economical queries, a technique they commit to executing transparently after previous criticisms. Additionally, users can leverage the 'Model Council' feature to query multiple models concurrently. While the unit economics of offering unlimited multi-model queries at flat subscription rates are still being refined, Perplexity expresses confidence in its high-margin user fees and its ability to remain competitive by intelligently allocating tokens to the most suitable model for each purpose.

Looking ahead, Perplexity plans to launch its Comet browser on iOS next month and will host a developers’ conference, 'Ask,' on March 11 in San Francisco, to foster third-party utilization of its API. This strategic emphasis on revenue and specialized users has led to executive focus shifting from daily query numbers to revenue metrics. However, this pivot has also prompted complaints on the Perplexity subreddit regarding new rate limits on both free and subscription product tiers. Executives, however, have strongly dismissed these complaints, asserting that 'Any discussions on the free tier being made worse or rate-limited is completely false.'