Perplexity launches Teammates to provide persistent AI work agents

A new class of AI worker

Perplexity has officially launched Teammates, a new suite of always-on AI agents designed to manage ongoing work tasks. Unlike standard chatbots that respond to single prompts, these agents are built to own specific roles and projects over time. They are positioned as a direct competitor to OpenAI's Dots and Anthropic's Claude Duet.

Each Teammate can be assigned a specific role, a standing brief, and clear rules regarding when they should involve the human user. This allows the AI to operate autonomously on recurring tasks while still providing oversight. The goal is to move from one-off interactions to a system where AI handles continuous workflows.

The company is targeting organizations that want to scale their output through automation. CEO Aravind Srinivas noted on X that the company expects organizations to eventually have hundreds of Teammates working for each person. This suggests a future where human workers act more as managers of a large fleet of digital employees.

How the technology functions

Teammates are powered by persistent memory and skills that are carried over from Perplexity Computer. This system allows the agents to maintain context across different projects and remember specific details about a user's work. They also run on automations designed to keep work moving even when the user is not actively interacting with the app.

Every Teammate is assigned its own persistent thread in the app's sidebar for easy access. Furthermore, these agents are capable of working with one another to complete complex goals. They can also communicate with human colleagues by following up with people in Slack, as reported by Free Press Journal.

Technically, each Teammate is equipped with its own desktop and browser environment. This means they can use the same plugins and permissions that the user has already installed on their own devices. This setup allows them to navigate web interfaces and interact with various software tools just as a human would.

Practical applications for work

Perplexity has provided several sample jobs to demonstrate how these agents can be deployed in a professional setting. One example is an on-call engineer who investigates system alerts and opens requests for fixes. Another example involves an agent dedicated to performing deep legal research for a firm.

The platform also suggests using Teammates to manage marketing efforts, such as running and monitoring ad campaigns. Because they have persistent memory, these agents can learn the specific nuances of a brand or a company's internal style. They can handle the repetitive parts of these jobs while the human focuses on high-level strategy.

By providing a dedicated browser and desktop for each agent, Perplexity is trying to solve the problem of AI 'hallucinating' or getting lost in complex workflows. The agents can stay within the bounds of the user's specific tools and permissions, making them more reliable for sensitive business operations.

The competitive landscape

Perplexity is entering a crowded market of

The competitive landscape

Perplexity is entering a crowded market of AI agents. OpenAI recently launched Dots, which are powered by the GPT-6 Astra model. Like Teammates, Dots have their own cloud computers and browsers, and they can reach more than 4,000 different apps through OpenAI's plugin system.

Anthropic is also competing with its research preview of Claude Duet. This is a standalone app for professionals and small-business owners that provides daily briefings and handles tasks like building forecasts or web apps. However, Anthropic has noted that Duet checks accounts every few hours rather than continuously, and it may struggle with personal errands like booking tickets.

While all three companies are building agents, they differ in their specific approaches to autonomy and frequency of updates. Perplexity's Teammates focuses on the 'always-on' nature of the agents and their ability to interact with Slack. Each company is trying to define how much control a user should retain over an AI that can perform actions independently.

Availability and pricing

Teammates is currently available on the web for users who subscribe to the Perplexity Max plan. This plan costs $200 a month and includes the new agent features. Perplexity is offering a promotional period where Max subscribers can use Teammates for free before they begin drawing on the plan's included credits.

While the web version is live now, the company has announced that mobile and desktop versions are coming soon. This expansion will allow users to manage their fleet of agents from more devices. The goal is to make these agents a constant presence in the user's daily workflow regardless of where they are working from.

For businesses, the high price point of the Max plan suggests that Perplexity is targeting power users and professional teams. By offering persistent threads and the ability for agents to work together, they are positioning this as a premium tool for high-volume work. The move signals a shift toward AI as a scalable labor force rather than just a search tool.