What Are the New Features of Perplexity?

What has Perplexity launched in the last month?

Perplexity publishes changelogs for Computer, Comet and the API separately. This table pulls out the changes that affect business users. Dates are 2026.

The new Perplexity features that matter most

Automations: Perplexity that works while you do not

Automations let Computer run on a schedule or when something happens in a connected app. They can use Memory, Skills and connectors, build on earlier runs, and pause for your review before anything consequential. Perplexity's own examples include checking price cuts every morning, drafting a recovery plan when a supplier emails about a delay, and summarising a priority customer who has gone quiet for four days. That last one is a genuinely useful job for a small sales team.

Effort Mode: you choose how hard it thinks

Pick Light for invoices into a spreadsheet and Ultra for a market-entry decision, or choose the model yourself. It is available on the web for personal accounts, with mobile and desktop to follow. It makes costs and speed more predictable.

Portable and Hybrid Computer

Portable Computer runs everything on your own Windows or Linux machine, which matters if you are wary of sending files to the cloud. It is available to Pro and Max subscribers. Perplexity has also announced a hybrid option that splits work between local and cloud models.

Inline visuals

Ask for a chart of a share price with moving averages, or an interactive 3D cutaway of an engine, and it appears inside the thread. Handy for an explainer, and good enough for a first-draft board chart.

An open-weight model for developers

The Decisions API runs on pplx-decider-v1-27b, a 27 billion parameter model under Apache 2.0, with a 1.1 update on 6 October. Perplexity says it beats a rival on its own 11-benchmark panel, which is the company marking its own homework. It is mainly of interest to developers.

What is good about the new Perplexity features?

• Sources by default. Answers come with citations, so you can check the claim before you repeat it.
• Real agent features. Automations, Skills and connectors make Computer more than a search box.
• Model choice. Perplexity gives you several leading models, so you are not tied to one lab.
• Local option. Portable Computer is a rare answer to the data-in-the-cloud worry.
• Great for first-draft research. Market scans, supplier checks and background reading are fast.

What is not so good?

• The best bits sit behind Pro and Max. GPT-6 Astra, Portable Computer and several others are not on the free plan.
• Writing is not its strength. The prose is competent but flatter than Claude's.
• Much of the news is for developers. Decisions API and Agent API Skills will not matter to a typical office.
• Fast-moving and fragmented. Computer, Comet, Spaces and Brain all change often. Re-check before training a team.

Is Perplexity best in class, and for what?

Perplexity is best in class for sourced, current research. If the question starts with "what is happening with" or "who are the main suppliers of", this is where I start. Computer is now a credible agent too, though I would still test it on low-risk jobs first.

For long-form writing, Claude is stronger. For work inside Microsoft apps, Copilot is closer. Our Perplexity for Dummies guide is a good first read.

Where should UK businesses use Perplexity?

Use Perplexity when the job is to find things out, quickly, with a trail you can check.

Where to be careful

• Sources can still be wrong. A citation proves where something came from, not that it is true. Open the important ones.
• Automations act. Keep the pause-for-review setting on anything that sends, buys or deletes.
• Plan checks. Confirm the feature is on your plan and in your region before you plan a rollout.

A sensible first test

Ask Perplexity for a short briefing on the three biggest competitors in your local market, with sources. Open every link. If the briefing holds up, set an Automation to refresh it every Monday. That is a morning's work saved each week.

The other four tools, updated the same day

• What Are the New Features of Claude?
• What Are the New Features of ChatGPT?
• What Are the New Features of Copilot?
• What Are the New Features of Gemini?

Frequently asked questions about Perplexity

What are the new features of Perplexity in October 2026?

The main ones are Automations in Computer, inline charts and 3D visuals, GPT-6.1 Sol access, Effort Mode, GPT-6 Astra support, Portable Computer for Windows and Linux, and the open-weight Decisions API.

What is Perplexity Computer?

Computer is Perplexity's agent. It plans and carries out multi-step tasks using several models, your connected apps and skills, and can now run on a schedule with Automations.

What are Perplexity Automations?

Automations run ongoing work in Computer on a schedule or when events happen in connected apps. They can use Memory, Skills and connectors and pause for your review before consequential actions.

What is Effort Mode in Perplexity?

Effort Mode lets you choose Light, Standard, High or Ultra so Computer matches its effort to the job, or choose the model and reasoning level yourself. It is on the web for personal accounts first.

Can Perplexity run on my own computer?

Yes. Portable Computer runs the orchestrator, models, tools and task queue on a Windows or Linux PC for Pro and Max subscribers. Perplexity has also announced a hybrid mode that splits work between local and cloud models.

Is Perplexity better than Google or ChatGPT for research?

For quick, cited answers I would start with Perplexity. ChatGPT is broader, and Google remains useful for local and navigational searches. Many people use two of the three.

Is Perplexity free?

There is a free version, and Pro adds more advanced models and features. Several of the newest Computer features need Pro or Max, so check the plan page for current UK pricing.