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Perplexity AI

A Tier · 8.5/10

**Nov 4: Computer teammates launched for Max subscribers, and the Decisions API can now search the web before it answers (mode web_grounding), which Perplexity says lifted accuracy on its PWS-Decisions benchmark from 51% to 86% with typical responses under 400 ms.** **Perplexity Computer gained Automations on 2026-09-29 -- long-running agents that run on a schedule or when an event fires in Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Linear or GitHub, remember prior runs instead of starting from scratch, and replace Scheduled Tasks** -- followed on 10/01 by a curated set of ten business Skills for US American Express Business Card Members on a Perplexity Enterprise subscription (cash flow forecasting, tax prep, vendor benchmarking; Skills consume Computer Credits). Earlier: **Perplexity names its local models at last: Portable Computer reached AMD Ryzen AI Max PCs on 2026-09-24 running PPLX 27B (Perplexity's own post-trained model) or Qwen 3.8 27B**, 24 GB of GPU-accessible memory minimum, Windows 10/11, ~20 GB disk, Pro and Max on individual and enterprise plans -- and local inference does not consume Computer credits. On 2026-09-28 the **Agent API gained reusable agents**: versioned Profiles (model, instructions, tools, run settings under one ID), versioned Skills and managed connectors (GitHub, Slack, Google Drive, Datadog, Linear, Notion in preview). Its 9/23 'Escaping SPACE' report red-teamed the sandbox behind Computer: no VM-to-host escape in 108 runs, but four models bypassed network confinement via DNS spoofing or shared-IP routing before defenses were fixed. The 9/21 GLM 5.2 disclosure stands.

Last updated: 2026-11-05Free tier available

Score Breakdown

9.0
Ease of Use
8.0
Output Quality
9.0
Value
8.0
Features
Visit Perplexity AI

Personality & Tone

The citation-first researcher

Tone: Clean, web-grounded, and clinical. Perplexity treats every answer like a research brief -- short intro, bullet findings, inline citations -- rather than a conversation.

Quirks: Hedges less than Claude because it is citing sources rather than stating opinions. Pro Search and Deep Research modes sound almost academic; casual chat feels stiff compared to ChatGPT.

The Good and the Bad

What we like

  • +Every answer includes numbered citations to real sources -- you can verify claims
  • +Pro search mode deeply researches your question across multiple sources before answering
  • +Faster than ChatGPT for factual research and current events
  • +Free tier is surprisingly generous for casual research

What could be better

  • −Not great for creative tasks -- it's a research tool, not a creative partner
  • −Citations sometimes link to low-quality or paywalled sources
  • −Writing quality is functional but bland compared to Claude
  • −Pro searches are limited even on the paid plan

Pricing

Free

$0
  • ✓Unlimited quick searches
  • ✓5 Pro searches/day
  • ✓Basic AI model

Pro

$20/month
  • ✓600 Pro searches/day
  • ✓Frontier model access
  • ✓File uploads (PDF/DOC/DOCX/TXT/RTF)
  • ✓API access + official Python/TypeScript SDKs
  • ✓**Personal Computer included since 2026-05-07** via the Perplexity Mac app (was Max-only at April launch); Windows since 2026-07-28
  • ✓**Kimi K3 (2.8T open-weight, 1M context, US-hosted) added 2026-08-04**
  • ✓Projects (shared workspaces, replaced Spaces 2026-08-04) + Model Council (2-8 models per question)

Max

$200/month
  • ✓Personal Computer (first access 2026-04-16)
  • ✓Highest priority queue
  • ✓All frontier models
  • ✓Always-on agent orchestrates Mail, Notes, iMessage, Safari, local files
  • ✓**Kimi K3 US-hosted added 2026-08-04**
  • ✓Projects + Model Council

Known Issues

  • TEAMMATES FOR MAX, AND WEB GROUNDING FOR THE DECISIONS API (2026-11-04, vendor-primary): **(1) Teammates** -- long-running personal agents inside Computer that own ongoing projects, remember past runs, follow up proactively and work in Slack; web first, iOS soon, **Perplexity Max only** at launch (details on the Perplexity Computer page). **(2) Decisions API web grounding** -- 'Starting today, Perplexity's Decisions API can now search the web before it answers.' Setting 'mode': 'web_grounding' runs one Perplexity Fast Search query per question and adds the results to the request state as evidence, and state can now be a URL. On PWS-Decisions, 'a public benchmark with 100 questions that depend on current web facts, accuracy rose from 51% to 86% with typical responses in under 400 ms' (Perplexity's own benchmark). No per-request price for grounding was stated in the post.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/teammates-are-agents-for-complex-ongoing-work and /hub/blog/web-grounding-for-the-decisions-api, both Nov 4, 2026 on the hub index) -- fetched 2026-11-05 · 2026-11-04
  • FEDRAMP MODERATE FOR PERPLEXITY ENTERPRISE, AND LOCAL COMPUTER ON MAC (2026-10-20 and 2026-10-28, vendor-primary): 'Today, Perplexity Enterprise has achieved FedRAMP Class C (Moderate) certification, bringing live web search and source-cited answers within its certified environment.' 'Federal agencies can access Enterprise Pro for Government through GSA's OneGov offer for $0.25 per agency through March 31, 2027.' On 10/20 Perplexity Computer gained a fully local mode on Mac for Pro, Max and Enterprise subscribers (Qwen 3.6 or PPLX Pro, 36 GB or more recommended) and Valarian deployments inside air-gapped networks; details on the Perplexity Computer page.Source: Perplexity hub: New FedRAMP certification brings Perplexity to more government workflows (Oct 28, 2026, read via Firecrawl; curl returns 403) + Perplexity Computer now runs fully local on Mac (Oct 20, 2026), fetched 2026-10-29 · 2026-10-28
  • AUTOMATIONS REPLACE SCHEDULED TASKS IN COMPUTER -- EVENT TRIGGERS, MEMORY ACROSS RUNS, MISSED-DEADLINE FLAGS -- AND AN AMERICAN EXPRESS SKILLS BUNDLE FOR ENTERPRISE SUBSCRIBERS (2026-09-29 and 2026-10-01, vendor-primary): **Automations (9/29):** 'bring Computer's capabilities to long-running agents that work proactively on a schedule or in response to conditional events'; each automation uses Computer's connected files, tools and Projects and **'remembers prior work, picking up where it left off'** -- a weekly competitor-pricing report compares against last week's findings, a customer-service automation drafts replies with earlier emails in mind. **'Automations replace Scheduled Tasks, adding event-based triggers and memory of prior runs'**; triggers are a schedule or a specified event in **Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Linear or GitHub**, narrowed by conditions (e.g. an email from a named sender asking for a decision). Automations can also flag absence -- 'Tell me if the Tuesday deployment hasn't shipped by Wednesday morning'. Setup from the omnibar or Automations > New Automation; users specify which actions Computer may take alone and which need review ('Ask for review before sharing an update in Slack'); admins scope connector permissions; run history records the trigger and the output. No credit pricing is stated in the post. **AmEx Skills (10/01):** 'ready-to-use Skills for Perplexity Computer specifically curated for U.S. American Express Business Card Members with a Perplexity Enterprise subscription' -- ten pre-built workflows across finance, marketing, operations and hiring (cash flow forecasting, tax-season prep, vendor benchmarking, scenario planning, reconciliation and more), reached by opening Personal CFO from the connectors page and linking the Amex Business Card through Plaid; forecasts pull the operating bank account via Plaid and optionally an accounting tool. **'Running Skills requires Computer Credits, and usage varies with the complexity of the task.'** Both items are Computer features; the Perplexity Computer page carries the same note.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/computer-adds-automations-for-ongoing-work, 'Sep 29, 2026'; perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-and-american-express-make-ai-easier-for-growing-businesses, 'Oct 1, 2026'; dates from the hub index 'Recently published' list via Firecrawl, bodies via curl) -- fetched 2026-10-02 · 2026-10-01
  • AGENT API NOW SUPPORTS REUSABLE AGENTS -- VERSIONED PROFILES, SKILLS AND MANAGED CONNECTORS (2026-09-28, vendor-primary): 'Today we're making these agent workflows easier with updates to Perplexity Agent API that give teams a reusable, versioned configuration layer for agents. We're adding custom Skills, managed connectors, and Profiles.' **Profiles** 'assemble an agent by saving its model, instructions, tools, Skills, connectors, and run settings under one versioned ID' -- configure once, make it available to authorized developers across a project, invoke the same procedure from an internal tool, CI workflow or service automation. **Versioned Skills** package instructions, procedures and supporting files. **Managed connectors** let project administrators configure approved integrations once instead of every developer wiring the service; users can also build custom connectors for internal systems. Availability: 'Profiles and custom Skills are available now for Agent API projects. Managed Connectors are available in preview, with **GitHub, Slack, Google Drive, Datadog, Linear, and Notion** currently supported', configured in the API Console and referenced with a project API key. Perplexity reminds that last month the Agent API became 'one programmable surface for web search, URL fetching, code execution, MCP, and specialized search tools'. No pricing change stated.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/agent-api-now-supports-reusable-agents; hub index date 'Sep 28, 2026' via Firecrawl) -- fetched 2026-09-28 · 2026-09-28
  • PORTABLE COMPUTER ON AMD RYZEN AI MAX -- AND PERPLEXITY FINALLY NAMES THE LOCAL MODELS: PPLX 27B AND QWEN 3.8 27B (2026-09-24, vendor-primary): 'Today we're expanding Portable Computer to systems powered by AMD Ryzen AI Max Series processors including the Ryzen AI Halo developer platform.' The line this page has waited for since 8/25: **'Available models include Qwen 3.8 27B and PPLX 27B, Perplexity's post-trained model'** -- so the Qwen 3.8 27B attribution we carried from NVIDIA's 9/14 blog is now Perplexity-primary, and PPLX 27B is a named Perplexity checkpoint (the model selector screenshot shows 'PPLX 27B selected as the local model, Qwen 27B highlighted, and cloud models listed below'). Economics: **'local inference doesn't consume Computer credits'**; recurring local tasks reuse the same local model; the local agent can still escalate to the cloud for advanced research and reasoning; local MCP servers reach apps on the same PC; connected apps only through user-configured connectors; an administrator decides whether it is allowed on enterprise plans. **Requirements:** an AMD Ryzen AI Halo developer platform or any Ryzen AI Max Series system with **at least 24 GB of GPU-accessible memory**, Windows 10 or 11, ~20 GB free disk for setup; **available today to Pro and Max subscribers on individual and enterprise plans through the Perplexity app for Windows**. That matches the NVIDIA-side 24 GB floor recorded 9/14 and extends Portable from RTX to AMD's unified-memory APUs.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/portable-computer-comes-to-amd-powered-agentic-pcs; hub index date 'Sep 24, 2026' via Firecrawl) -- fetched 2026-09-28 via curl with browser UA · 2026-09-24
  • ESCAPING SPACE, PART I -- PERPLEXITY RED-TEAMED THE SANDBOX BEHIND COMPUTER AND FOUND NETWORK BYPASSES, NOW FIXED (2026-09-23, vendor research): 'We tested two containment boundaries in SPACE, the sandbox platform behind Perplexity Computer: VM isolation and network confinement. Nine models received root access inside a guest VM and attempted to obtain a host-side secret or reach a blocked network destination. **No VM-to-host escape was observed in 108 runs.** With limited network access, however, **four models bypassed network restrictions through DNS spoofing or shared-IP routing.**' Part I covers those bypasses, the defenses implemented and 'a reevaluation in which neither mechanism produced a verified bypass'; it also reports results for nine of ten other sandbox platforms and summarizes disclosures to affected vendors (one vendor asked for more time and is omitted). Part II will cover the models' attack strategies. Relevance: Computer runs real software with credentials, and this is the vendor's own evidence that network confinement, not VM isolation, was the weak boundary -- consistent with the sandbox-escape behaviors Anthropic and OpenAI described in their September alignment posts.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/escaping-space-part-i; hub index date 'Sep 23, 2026' via Firecrawl) -- fetched 2026-09-28 via curl with browser UA · 2026-09-23
  • WHAT ACTUALLY RUNS PERPLEXITY COMPUTER: GLM 5.2, POST-TRAINED BY PERPLEXITY ON YOUR SESSIONS (2026-09-21, vendor-primary research post): Perplexity's 'Learning from Real-World Mistakes' is a training write-up, but it settles a question this page has carried since Computer launched -- **which model is underneath.** Verbatim: the pipeline 'draws from a training-eligible subset of real-world Computer sessions **served by GLM 5.2**', the trainer 'runs the same GLM 5.2 checkpoint twice' (teacher with a hint, student without), and '**the post-trained student then becomes a model option in Computer**'. So at least one of Computer's selectable models is a Perplexity fine-tune of Z.ai's open-weight GLM 5.2 -- the same lineage as the Qwen 3.8 27B it post-trained for Portable Computer. **The method, briefly:** rejection-sampling fine-tuning on successful sessions plus hint-guided On-Policy Self-Distillation on marked mistakes, where a 'hint' is a short correction grounded only in information the model already had (tool schema, earlier turns); user complaints and tool errors are traced back to the responsible turn by LLM judges. **The numbers, with Perplexity's own caveats attached:** offline tool-error rate 2.79% for stock GLM 5.2, 1.35% for an RFT-only checkpoint, 0.87% with RFT plus self-distillation ('not a controlled ablation'); a first live A/B against stock GLM 5.2 was not statistically significant; a second A/B between two trained checkpoints (about 100,000 users each) cut tool-call failures from **2.24% to 1.77%, a statistically significant 21.2% relative reduction**, with **no significant change in user dissatisfaction** (2.58% vs 2.54%). Perplexity states the training excludes sessions with PII and from users who opted out. **Why this belongs on the page:** buyers evaluating Computer against ChatGPT Work or Claude Cowork should know its default agent brain is an open-weight Chinese-origin model tuned in-house, not a frontier API -- that is the source of both its credit economics and its ceiling. (Also relevant to glm.ts: GLM 5.2 now has a named production deployment at scale.)Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/learning-from-real-world-mistakes, hub index date 'Sep 21, 2026'; contributors listed incl. Denis Yarats) -- rendered via Firecrawl 2026-09-21 · 2026-09-21
  • COMPUTER GETS EFFORT CONTROLS -- A FOUR-STEP SLIDER THAT PICKS THE MODEL AND REASONING LEVEL FOR YOU (2026-09-17, vendor-primary): Perplexity Computer now has an **effort slider in the omnibar with Light, Standard, High and Ultra settings**; each setting 'selects the model responsible for coordinating an assignment and how deeply it reasons', and the orchestrator delegates sub-tasks to supporting agents that 'can use models from different providers'. Perplexity's examples: Light for collecting vendor invoices into a spreadsheet, Standard for a sales brief, High for prioritising product work, Ultra for evaluating a new market. **Cost rule as stated: 'Lower settings use less expensive models. Credit usage depends on the work Computer performs'** -- no credit multipliers are published, so the slider is a cost lever without a price list. Custom controls (pick a specific model and reasoning level) remain. **Web today; Android and iOS 'soon'.** The screenshot shows Ultra mapping to GPT-6 Astra at maximum effort. This is the same shape as GitHub Copilot's efficiency/balance/intelligence auto-selection tiers (9/14) and Claude Code's effort levels: vendors are converging on abstracting model choice behind a spend dial.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/computer-adds-effort-mode-for-model-selection, hub index date 'Sep 17, 2026') -- rendered via Firecrawl 2026-09-17 · 2026-09-17
  • HP PRE-LOADS THE PERPLEXITY WINDOWS APP -- FIRST OEM DISTRIBUTION DEAL, STARTING WITH THE ZBOOK ULTRA G3A, WITH A READ-ONLY AUTODESK REVIT MCP INTEGRATION (2026-09-15, vendor-primary): HP will ship the Perplexity Windows app **pre-loaded in the taskbar**, beginning with the **HP ZBook Ultra G3a** (AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 400-series) and 'more HP Windows devices... in the coming months'. Customers get Computer in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, Personal Computer for local files, 400+ connectors, and **Portable Computer on supported configurations** ('availability depends on the device configuration'). **New integration:** Perplexity, HP and Autodesk connect Portable Computer to **Autodesk Revit 2027 via its MCP server (Tech Preview)** -- a separate Revit add-on -- for natural-language questions about an open BIM model (door counts, fire ratings, locations) and exporting views, PDFs and schedules; **the Revit MCP server is read-only and does not modify the model.** Plan gating restated: Personal Computer for Windows is Pro, Max and Enterprise on Windows 10/11. **Why it matters:** an OEM pre-load is a distribution channel none of the other roster assistants has on Windows, and it lands the day after Portable Computer for Windows shipped.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-comes-to-more-windows-pcs-with-hp, hub index date 'Sep 15, 2026') -- rendered via Firecrawl 2026-09-17 · 2026-09-15
  • PERPLEXITY'S OWN POST CONFIRMS PORTABLE COMPUTER FOR WINDOWS -- 24GB VRAM FLOOR VERIFIED, PRO AND MAX ON INDIVIDUAL AND ENTERPRISE PLANS, LOCAL MCP SERVERS, SCHEDULED LOCAL TASKS (2026-09-14, vendor-primary; resolves the 9/14 entry's re-verify flag): Perplexity's hub post 'Portable Computer for Windows is here' states that Portable 'runs the model, agent harness, orchestrator, and scheduler entirely on the Windows device', that on-device work 'doesn't consume Computer credits', and that it **'is available to Pro and Max subscribers on both individual and enterprise plans'** through the existing Windows app. **Hardware, in Perplexity's words: 'On-device inference requires an NVIDIA GeForce RTX or RTX PRO GPUs with at least 24GB of VRAM'** -- the NVIDIA-sourced floor is confirmed. **New detail not in NVIDIA's post:** Portable can **schedule recurring local tasks** (Perplexity's example: reconciling freight invoices in a permitted folder each morning), connects to desktop applications through **local MCP servers**, works with Gmail, Outlook, Slack and GitHub via the local orchestrator, and **asks permission before anything leaves the device** when escalating to Perplexity Search or one of '15+ frontier models'. Users 'download the local model you want to use in one click after selecting it in the model dropdown' -- **the post does not name the model, so the 'Qwen 3.8 27B post-trained for Computer' detail on this page remains NVIDIA's statement, not Perplexity's.** Lineage per the post: Portable launched in August for NVIDIA DGX Spark, Personal Computer for Windows shipped 7/28.Source: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/portable-computer-for-windows-is-here, hub index date 'Sep 14, 2026') -- rendered via Firecrawl 2026-09-17 · 2026-09-14
  • PORTABLE COMPUTER ON WINDOWS -- THE LOCAL AGENT LEAVES THE MAC, BUT ONLY FOR 24GB+ NVIDIA GPUS, AND LOCAL WORK IS CREDIT-FREE (2026-09-14, announced on NVIDIA's blog; no matching Perplexity post found at sweep time): NVIDIA published 'Perplexity Portable Computer Is Now Available on Windows, Powered by NVIDIA RTX', stating 'Today, Perplexity is adding **Portable Computer** in the Perplexity app for Windows on compatible NVIDIA GeForce RTX PCs and NVIDIA RTX PRO Workstations', building on 'existing support for NVIDIA DGX Spark systems and RTX PCs running Linux.' **What Portable Computer is:** 'a local version of the agent Perplexity Computer that plans and carries out multistep tasks' using local models, so **sensitive information stays on device, and locally completed work doesn't consume Perplexity Computer credits** -- the first time the credit-free local tier is stated explicitly. It can escalate to cloud models 'asking the user for permission before sending information off-device', which is the Windows counterpart of the Mac privacy gate recorded on 9/01. **The local model is a Qwen 3.8 27B 'post-trained to work with Perplexity Computer and optimized for NVIDIA RTX GPUs'** -- different from the Qwen3.6-35B-A3B that Perplexity's own Lily engine runs on Apple silicon, and NVIDIA does not say Lily is involved on Windows. Connectors: Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, GitHub. **HARDWARE GATE: 'GeForce RTX and RTX PRO GPUs with 24GB or more of VRAM'** -- i.e. RTX 4090/5090-class or workstation cards; DGX Station support 'expected to come soon.' **ATTRIBUTION NOTE:** this is NVIDIA's post about Perplexity's product, and it is a co-marketing piece for NVIDIA's local-AI push; the product facts (credit-free local work, the 24GB floor, the Qwen 3.8 27B model) are stated as Perplexity's, but Perplexity's own changelog and hub had no corresponding entry when checked the same day -- re-verify the VRAM floor and model against a Perplexity source next sweep. [RESOLVED 2026-09-17: Perplexity's own 9/14 hub post confirms the 24GB floor, credit-free local work and Pro/Max availability on individual and enterprise plans, but does not name the local model -- see the newer entry.] **THIS PARTLY CLOSES THE WATCH ITEM ON THIS PAGE:** the Windows version of Computer's local/hybrid mode has now shipped in some form, though only for a narrow hardware band and without the Windows-general availability the June announcement implied.Source: NVIDIA Blog (blogs.nvidia.com/blog/local-ai-perplexity-windows-pcs/, JSON-LD datePublished 2026-09-14T15:00:52+00:00) -- fetched 2026-09-14 via curl; perplexity.ai/changelog and perplexity.ai/hub checked same day, no matching post · 2026-09-14
  • HYBRID COMPUTE ON MAC -- CLOUD AND LOCAL MODELS SPLIT A SINGLE TASK, WITH AN ON-DEVICE PRIVACY GATE (2026-09-01, vendor-primary; this page was last reviewed 2026-08-20 and had only a vague June note about a 'hybrid local-server inference orchestrator', which this supersedes): Perplexity shipped the feature that makes Personal Computer defensible for confidential work. **WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES:** in the newest Perplexity for Mac app, users 'can now add a compact local model post-trained for Perplexity Computer and choose to run tasks on device'. Each task is **divided between the cloud and the local model** rather than routed wholly to one: 'The cloud handles frontier reasoning, web search, and planning, while the local model on the Mac processes private files, sensitive information, and on-device actions needed at every step.' Computer coordinates the whole workflow, so the user does not have to split prompts manually. **THE PRIVACY GATE IS THE PART WORTH READING CLOSELY, AND IT IS MORE THAN AN ON/OFF SWITCH:** 'A privacy gate on the Mac controls what may leave the machine. Before information from a protected file reaches the cloud, the privacy gate can **mask sensitive details, keep it local, refuse the action, or ask for consent**.' Four graded outcomes, enforced on device -- that is a materially stronger claim than 'we do not train on your data', because it is a mechanism rather than a promise. **REMOTE USE:** 'Perplexity Computer works with iPhone' -- prompts can be sent from anywhere while the local model keeps running on the Mac. **HARDWARE FRAMING:** Perplexity names Apple's new Mac mini and Mac Studio, 'announced last week', as ideal platforms, leaning on Apple silicon and unified memory. **THE HONEST LIMITS:** this is **Mac-only** -- the Windows version announced around 2026-06-04 still has not shipped -- and the local half is a **compact** model, not a frontier one, so the cloud is still doing the hard reasoning. The privacy guarantee covers what the gate is configured to protect, not everything you touchSource: Perplexity blog (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-hybrid-compute-on-mac, dated Sep 1, 2026) -- fetched 2026-09-07 · 2026-09-01
  • LILY: PERPLEXITY BUILT ITS OWN APPLE-SILICON INFERENCE ENGINE, AND PUBLISHED THE NUMBERS (2026-09-01, vendor engineering post): the local half of Hybrid Compute does not run on Apple's standard stack. Perplexity wrote **Lily, a lightweight local inference engine built specifically for Apple silicon and Qwen3.6-35B-A3B**, with separate optimizations for prefill and decode. **ARCHITECTURE:** a **Rust runtime** loads the checkpoint and manages session state and the generation loop, an **OpenAI-compatible chat-completions API** accepts requests and streams tokens, and **custom Metal kernels** execute Qwen-specific operations -- **'Neither PyTorch nor MLX is in the execution path'**. The rationale is specialization: MLX-LM's reusable kernels must support many architectures, whereas Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is a sparse hybrid (MoE routing plus fixed-size recurrent states and full attention) whose irregular workloads reward an engine that coordinates kernels, data movement and scheduling around one fixed structure. **VENDOR-PUBLISHED PERFORMANCE, ON A MAC STUDIO WITH A 40-CORE GPU AND 128 GB OF UNIFIED MEMORY:** across ten prompt lengths for prefill and ten context lengths for decode, from 256 to 128K tokens, Lily averages **1.23x MLX-LM's prefill throughput and 1.35x its decode throughput**; at a 4K-token prompt and 4K-token decode context it reaches **5,749.9 prefill tokens/sec and 186.6 decode tokens/sec**. **TREAT THESE AS FIRST-PARTY:** they are Perplexity's own measurements against MLX-LM on one machine configuration, with no third-party replication -- and a 1.23-1.35x gain over a general-purpose framework is a solid engineering result, not a step change. **A standalone demo is publicly available on GitHub**, which is unusual enough to be worth noting: the engine underpinning a paid product is inspectableSource: Perplexity engineering blog (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/optimizing-on-device-inference-for-apple-silicon, dated Sep 1, 2026) -- fetched 2026-09-07 · 2026-09-01
  • COMPUTER IN EMAIL -- THE AGENT NOW RUNS FROM YOUR INBOX, AND IT IS LIVE FOR EVERY COMPUTER USER TODAY (2026-08-18, vendor-primary): Perplexity added email as a launch surface for Computer. You '**send, forward, or cc computer@perplexity.com**' -- a new message, a forwarded thread, or a cc on an existing conversation -- and '**Computer verifies the sender, reads the full thread and any attachments, and runs the task with the sender's own connectors and permissions**'. The reply comes back **in the same thread**, with deliverables like **Excel models, PDFs and decks returned as attachments**. **AVAILABILITY IS THE STRONG PART:** '**Computer in Email is available to all Computer users today**' -- no waitlist, no tier gate beyond already having Computer (Pro $20/mo and Max $200/mo per the pricing above). **THE SECURITY MODEL, WHICH IS THE FIRST THING TO ASK ABOUT AN EMAIL-TRIGGERED AGENT:** Perplexity says Computer **verifies the sender before answering**, so 'a task only runs with that person's own access', and for security it '**replies only to the sender**' -- **'Reply all' support for Enterprise is 'coming soon'**, i.e. not shipped. Every email task is a full Computer session viewable on web and mobile '**with the same steps and audit trail**' as a web-app task. **CONTEXT CARRIES OVER:** an email task draws on the same **Brain** self-improving memory as web and Slack sessions, so team terminology, output-format preferences and prior decisions apply. **WHERE IT SITS:** email joins **Computer in Slack** and **Computer in Teams** as the third collaboration surface. Perplexity's rationale is that 'nearly a third of knowledge work still happens over email' and its worked examples are pointedly finance and legal -- forwarding a CIM and data-room thread to get a first-pass LBO model back as Excel, cc'ing Computer on a redline exchange for a summary of open issues, emailing for a five-year DCF. **THE CAUTION WORTH STATING:** a forwarded thread hands the agent everything in that thread including attachments, and the trigger is an email address -- so sender verification is the entire boundary between 'my agent' and 'anyone who can spoof me'. Perplexity does not describe the verification mechanism in the postSource: Perplexity (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/computer-now-works-in-email, dated Aug 18, 2026, fetched 2026-08-20 via curl -- perplexity.ai 403s WebFetch) · 2026-08-18
  • FIVE-PART RELEASE: PROJECTS, MODEL COUNCIL, US-HOSTED KIMI K3, VOICE MEMORY AND AN OPEN-SOURCE AGENT SECURITY TOOL (2026-08-04, vendor changelog): Perplexity's largest single release since Computer launched, and none of it was picked up by aggregator coverage. **(1) PROJECTS REPLACE SPACES.** Projects are shared Computer workspaces with a **persistent file system where humans and agents edit the same files**, a self-improving memory via **Brain** that carries context between tasks, and **connectors scoped per project** rather than per account. **Every existing Space is migrated automatically** -- if you had Spaces, they are now Projects, so this is a change you get whether or not you wanted it. Collaboration detail that matters for privacy: invited teammates share files, artifacts and history, but '**personal memory and connector accounts stay scoped to each individual**'. You can link a Slack or Teams channel to a project with `/project` and start tasks in-channel with full project context. **(2) MODEL COUNCIL IN COMPUTER** -- assemble '**a board of top models for a single question**': pick **two to eight models across OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and open source**, choose an analysis depth, and Computer runs each independently then synthesises **where they agree, where they disagree, and what each uniquely surfaces**, before turning the result into reports or decks. This is the most interesting product idea in the release: it sells model disagreement as the deliverable, which is the opposite of every router that tries to hide it. **(3) KIMI K3, US-HOSTED** -- the 2.8T open-weight frontier model is now in Perplexity and Perplexity Computer for **Pro and Max**, '**hosted exclusively on US-based servers**', with 1M context and native vision, explicitly pitched as getting the model '**without data leaving US infrastructure**'. That is a jurisdictional answer to the main enterprise objection to Chinese models, made possible by the weights being public (see /tools/kimi). **(4) VOICE MODE MEMORY** -- voice on web and Computer now opens with your personalisation context (profession, interests) already loaded, so you stop re-explaining yourself each session. **(5) NUMBAT** -- a genuinely unexpected one: Perplexity released an **open-source agent-detection and response layer** giving security teams live visibility into what AI coding agents do on endpoints, **with the ability to block risky actions before they run**. It ships as a **single Go binary for macOS, Linux and Windows**, integrates with the leading agent harnesses, emits **hook-based and OpenTelemetry telemetry**, enforces **CEL rules** to stop network egress, sensitive file access or shell commands on-device, and can **reconstruct a forensic timeline from on-disk artifacts even with no live telemetry running**. A search company shipping open-source EDR for coding agents is a real signal about where the agent-security gap isSource: Perplexity changelog (perplexity.ai/changelog/shared-workspaces-personal-computer-for-windows-and-model-council, dated 08/04/26, fetched 2026-08-06 via curl -- perplexity.ai 403s WebFetch) · 2026-08-04
  • PERSONAL COMPUTER FOR WINDOWS (2026-07-28, vendor-primary): Perplexity's agent platform came to Windows -- 'Today we're launching Personal Computer for Windows, bringing Perplexity's agent platform to more than a billion devices globally.' It works on local files (create and edit Word/Excel, find files and file them in Explorer), moves between local files and the web, connects to Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) plus 400+ App Connectors, supports voice mode, and hands tasks off from phone to desktop. **AVAILABILITY CORRECTION -- this is NOT Max-gated, contrary to some coverage.** The vendor page states plainly: '**Personal Computer is available now for Pro, Max, and Enterprise subscribers on Windows 10 and 11**' (verified by direct fetch 2026-08-03). Safety posture: it 'always alerts a user before it takes a sensitive action like sending an email or deleting a file', files are created in a secure sandbox, and actions are auditable. Perplexity's own scale claim: Computer has performed 'more than $9.4B in labor-equivalent work' since launching earlier this year. This closes the Mac-only gap the April 2026 launch left openSource: Perplexity blog (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/personal-computer-on-windows, fetched 2026-08-03 via curl -- perplexity.ai 403s WebFetch) · 2026-07-28
  • BRAIN MEMORY + CLAUDE OPUS 5 UNDERNEATH (2026-07-13 and 2026-07-27, vendor changelog): **Brain**, Perplexity's self-improving memory system, launched in Computer on 7/13 -- it builds a private context graph across sessions, connectors, files and past decisions, refreshes nightly, links every memory back to its source, and can be switched off. Vendor-reported effect: it 'lifted answer correctness 25% and recall 16% while cutting cost 13% on tasks with prior context.' On **7/27 Brain went global for Max subscribers** in 15 languages. Same day, **Claude Opus 5 went live across Perplexity Search and Computer** -- vendor wording: 'On the WANDR benchmark, it outperformed every model tested except Fable 5, while costing 57% less per task.' Also in this window: mid-task orchestrator model switching, one-click website publishing to pplx.app or your own domain via Vercel, and Agent API Skills. Treat the Brain and WANDR figures as first-partySource: Perplexity changelog (perplexity.ai/changelog, entries 2026-07-13 and 2026-07-27) · 2026-07-27
  • PERSONAL COMPUTER EXPANSION (2026-05-07, vendor-confirmed): 'Personal Computer is Available to All Mac Users' -- the always-on agent rolled out to **Pro ($20/mo) and Max subscribers via the new Perplexity Mac app**, ending the Max-only gate from the April 16 launch. Runs locally and autonomously (optimized for Mac/Mac mini), 400+ connectors, credit usage tied to subscription tier. Since then: a hybrid local-server inference orchestrator (~2026-06-05, automatic on-device vs cloud task routing, shown at Computex 2026) and an announced **Windows version** (~2026-06-04, orchestrates local apps, files, and 20+ AI models -- not yet shipped)Source: Perplexity blog (perplexity.ai/hub/blog/personal-computer-is-available-to-all-mac-users), VentureBeat (Computex hybrid inference), heise (Windows version) · 2026-06
  • Pro Search reached GA in April 2026 with multi-step reasoning across sources. Official Python and TypeScript SDKs also released. File attachment support (PDF/DOC/DOCX/TXT/RTF) rolled out in the same windowSource: TechBriefly, Perplexity blog · 2026-04
  • Occasionally cites sources that don't actually support the claim being madeSource: Reddit r/perplexity_ai · 2026-03

Best for

Researchers, students, professionals, and anyone who needs factual answers with sources. It's what Google should have become.

Not for

Creative writing, brainstorming, or tasks where you need a conversational AI partner. Use Claude or ChatGPT for that.

Our Verdict

Perplexity is the best AI tool for research, period. The citation system means you can actually trust and verify answers instead of blindly hoping the AI didn't hallucinate. It's not trying to be ChatGPT -- it's trying to replace Google for research queries, and it's succeeding. If you do any kind of research work, the Pro plan is worth it.

Sources

  • Perplexity: Web grounding for the Decisions API (2026-11-04) (accessed 2026-11-05)
  • Perplexity: Teammates are agents for complex, ongoing work (2026-11-04) (accessed 2026-11-05)
  • Perplexity: New FedRAMP certification brings Perplexity to more government workflows (2026-10-28) (accessed 2026-10-29)
  • Perplexity: Computer adds Automations for ongoing work (2026-09-29) -- schedule or event triggers, memory of prior runs, replaces Scheduled Tasks (accessed 2026-10-02)
  • Perplexity: Perplexity and American Express make AI easier for growing businesses (2026-10-01) -- ten business Skills for Enterprise subscribers, Computer Credits (accessed 2026-10-02)
  • Perplexity: Agent API now supports reusable agents (2026-09-28) -- Profiles, Skills, managed connectors (GitHub, Slack, Drive, Datadog, Linear, Notion preview) (accessed 2026-09-28)
  • Perplexity: Portable Computer comes to AMD-powered agentic PCs (2026-09-24) -- PPLX 27B and Qwen 3.8 27B named, 24 GB floor, no credit spend, Pro/Max (accessed 2026-09-28)
  • Perplexity: Escaping SPACE: Part I (2026-09-23) -- sandbox red-team, no VM escape in 108 runs, four network bypasses fixed (accessed 2026-09-28)
  • Perplexity hub blog index -- post dates (via Firecrawl, 2026-09-28) (accessed 2026-09-28)
  • Perplexity: Learning from Real-World Mistakes (2026-09-21) -- Computer sessions served by GLM 5.2; post-trained checkpoint becomes a Computer model option; 21.2% relative tool-failure cut (accessed 2026-09-21)
  • Perplexity: Computer adds effort controls for model selection -- Light/Standard/High/Ultra (2026-09-17) (accessed 2026-09-17)
  • Perplexity: Perplexity comes to more Windows PCs with HP -- ZBook Ultra G3a pre-load, Revit MCP tech preview (2026-09-15) (accessed 2026-09-17)
  • Perplexity: Portable Computer for Windows is here -- 24GB VRAM floor, Pro/Max individual + enterprise, local MCP, scheduled tasks (2026-09-14) (accessed 2026-09-17)
  • NVIDIA Blog: Perplexity Portable Computer Is Now Available on Windows, Powered by NVIDIA RTX -- 24GB+ VRAM, Qwen 3.8 27B local model, credit-free local work (2026-09-14) (accessed 2026-09-14)
  • Perplexity: Introducing Hybrid Compute on Mac (2026-09-01) (accessed 2026-09-07)
  • Perplexity Engineering: Optimizing On-Device Inference for Apple Silicon -- the Lily engine (2026-09-01) (accessed 2026-09-07)
  • Perplexity: Computer now works in email -- available to all Computer users (2026-08-18) (accessed 2026-08-20)
  • Perplexity changelog: Shared workspaces, Personal Computer for Windows, and Model Council (2026-08-04 -- Projects, Model Council, US-hosted Kimi K3, voice memory, Numbat) (accessed 2026-08-06)
  • Perplexity blog: Personal Computer is Available to All Mac Users (2026-05-07) (accessed 2026-06-09)
  • Perplexity official site (accessed 2026-04-18)
  • Engadget: Perplexity Personal Computer for Mac (accessed 2026-04-18)
  • MacRumors: Perplexity Personal Computer for Mac (accessed 2026-04-18)
  • Reddit r/perplexity_ai (accessed 2026-04-18)
  • Hands-on testing (accessed 2026-04-18)

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