Claude Code and OpenClaw have taken 2026 by storm by offering the first glimpses of personal AI agents. Perplexity just unveiled an agent that could prove to be more versatile and easier to use.

On Wednesday, the AI search firm launched Perplexity Computer, which it calls "a general-purpose digital worker that operates the same interfaces you do" and "a system that creates and executes entire workflows, capable of running for hours or even months."

It's live starting today at perplexity.ai/computer. It's only available on the web for now and not in the Perplexity app. It's also only available to Perplexity Max subscribers ($200/month) to start, while Perplexity says it will roll out to Pro ($20/month) and Enterprise subscribers in the coming weeks. To access it from perplexity.ai, you'll simply click the "Computer" icon/link in the upper left corner under the main Perplexity icon.

• Perplexity Computer coordinates with tools, files, personal context, various AI models, deep research on the open web, agentic web access, coding capabilities, and file creation.
• It draws from 19 models, open-source and proprietary, from all the leading labs. At the start, it "uses Opus 4.6 for orchestration and coding tasks, Gemini for deep research, Nano Banana for images, Veo 3.1 for video, Grok for speed in lightweight tasks, and ChatGPT 5.2 for long-context recall and wide search," according to Perplexity.
• The agent runs into a secure development sandbox.
• Perplexity has been using the agent internally since January and reports that its employees have used it to rapidly publish engineering documentation, build a 4,000-row spreadsheet overnight that would have normally taken a week, and used it to create websites, dashboards, applications, analysis, and visualizations.
• Because agents can rack up token costs so quickly, Perplexity has introduced per-token billing for consumers for the first time. Max users get 10,000 tokens as part of their plans and Perplexity is giving them an extra 20,000 tokens for the launch of Perplexity Computer so they can kick the tires on it.

Our Deeper View

There are two aspects of Perplexity Computer that could make a breakthrough product. The first is the orchestration of various models that are best-in-class at different functions. The second is the fact that you can tell Perplexity Computer the outcome you're looking to achieve, and then it will break the work up into various agents and sub-agents — based on the best capabilities of the various models — and then carry out and coordinate the work while the various agents manage their tasks simultaneously. I have a Perplexity Max subscription and I'll be testing it out and reporting back. You can also follow me on Twitter/X at x.com/jasonhiner, where I'll be posting updates on my experience with Perplexity Computer.