AI summaryⓘ
The authors studied how AI systems are evolving from simple search tools to more independent agents that can handle entire tasks by themselves. They found that the newer AI agent, called Computer, works much longer and more autonomously during sessions than the older Search tool, leading to better quality results and fewer user complaints. This agent also drastically cuts the time and cost needed to finish tasks compared to humans using only Search. Additionally, Computer helps users tackle more complex and varied tasks that require higher-level thinking across different fields. Overall, the authors show that AI agents can speed up work, improve results, save resources, and broaden the kinds of tasks users can do with AI support.
Frontier AI systemsAutonomous agentsTask decompositionKnowledge workFollow-up queriesExecution qualityCompletion timeOccupational boundariesHigher-order cognitionComposite tasks
Authors
Jeremy Yang, Kate Zyskowski, Noah Yonack, Jerry Ma
Abstract
Frontier AI systems are bridging the gap between intelligence and utility by shifting from conversational assistants to autonomous agents that execute tasks end to end. Using production data from Perplexity's Search and Computer products, we study this transition by examining how AI agents accelerate and reshape knowledge work. Three key empirical findings emerge. First, using sessions with near-identical initial query pairs as natural experiments for the same underlying task attempted with both products, Computer performs 26 minutes of autonomous work per user session, versus 33 seconds for Search. Computer automates task decomposition and execution that Search users might otherwise manually orchestrate and implement. As a result, Computer shifts follow-up query distribution toward higher-order work such as verification and extension. Autonomy also increases execution quality, with per-query dissatisfaction rates 55% lower on Computer than on Search. Second, due to its autonomy advantage, Computer reduces completion time from 269 to 36 minutes on matched tasks, lowering estimated time and cost by 87% and 94%, respectively, compared to humans equipped with Search alone. Third, Computer changes the scope of work that users attempt: Computer queries more often cross occupational boundaries, require higher-order cognition, draw on broader expertise, take the form of composite tasks that bundle interdependent subtasks into a single query, and unlock work activities that are essentially absent from Search usage among the same users. Together, the evidence indicates that AI agents accelerate workflows, enhance output quality, reduce costs, and expand the breadth and depth of automated work.