Perplexity's new AI helpers keep working on projects without being asked
Perplexity's teammates are AI agents that own an ongoing job, such as watching sales or customer complaints, and act when something changes. They remember past work and ask for approval along the way.
The short version
- Perplexity has launched "teammates", AI agents that take on long-running work such as watching a sales pipeline or customer complaints.
- They act when something changes, without waiting for a new request, and ask for approval along the way.
- They are available first on the web for Perplexity Max subscribers, with an iPhone app to follow.
What Perplexity launched
Perplexity's teammates are AI agents that keep working on a job without waiting to be asked. You give one a job and connect the tools it needs. It then works on that job over time.
They build on Computer, Perplexity's assistant for work with many steps. A teammate can coordinate several Computer sessions and other teammates. It remembers project goals and past tasks, along with shared files. Each new task builds on the work already done.
Perplexity gives a sales example. A teammate notices that a regular customer has stopped buying. It reviews the customer's orders and support issues to find out why. Then it prepares an offer, or flags a problem to fix before anyone reaches out. It sends progress updates and approval requests until the job is done.
Teammates also learn from feedback. Tell an operations teammate that an agency needs two weeks' notice, and it plans around that next time.
Jobs Perplexity suggests
- Marketing: run social posts, emails and ads. It watches results and competitors' promotions, and drafts fixes when results slip.
- Sales: find chances in inquiries and unfinished conversations, then prepare quotes and follow up.
- Support: review the previous day's complaints and spot trends. It flags cases that need a personal reply from the CEO.
- Operations: keep deadlines and paperwork on track, and chase missing items when a deadline is 72 hours away.
Teammates can join a Slack channel, where colleagues hand them work or ask for updates. They can also pass work to each other. One might find bugs on a website and hand them to another to prepare fixes.
Control and safety
Each teammate works in its own separate space, with its own browser. Saved passwords are encrypted. You can review its work or take over its screen at any time. It follows the tool and project permissions you have already set in Computer.
What it means for companies in Indonesia
The most useful early jobs are the dull, recurring ones. Chasing missing paperwork is one. Summarizing customer complaints is another. Both slip when teams are busy.
The risk is an agent acting on bad information, or using the wrong tone with a customer. Keep approvals on anything that reaches customers or spends money. Start with internal jobs, where a mistake is cheap to fix.
A teammate needs access to your email and files to be useful. Check what your data protection rules allow before you connect company systems.
What to do next
- Pick one recurring job that often slips, such as chasing paperwork before deadlines.
- Test a teammate on it with limited access first.
- Require approval before anything reaches a customer or spends money.
- Ask your legal team which company data you can connect.
- Compare the time saved with the cost of the Max plan.