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.

翻译：前沿AI系统正从对话式助手转向端到端执行任务的自主智能体，从而缩小了智能与实用性之间的差距。通过利用Perplexity的搜索与计算机产品的生产数据，我们研究这一转变，探究AI智能体如何加速并重塑知识工作。主要得出三项实证发现：首先，针对使用近乎相同初始查询对作为自然实验的会话（即同一潜在任务分别通过两种产品执行），计算机产品每次用户会话可自主完成26分钟的工作，而搜索产品仅为33秒。计算机产品自动完成任务分解与执行，而搜索产品用户可能需手动协调与实施这些步骤。因此，计算机产品将后续查询分布转向验证与扩展等高阶工作。自主性也提升了执行质量，计算机产品的单次查询不满意率比搜索产品低55%。其次，凭借自主性优势，计算机产品将匹配任务的完成时间从269分钟缩短至36分钟，相较于仅配备搜索产品的人类，预估时间和成本分别降低87%和94%。第三，计算机产品改变了用户尝试的工作范围：其查询更常跨越职业边界、需要高阶认知、依赖更广泛专业知识、以复合任务形式将相互依赖的子任务捆绑到单一查询中，并解锁了同一用户在搜索产品使用中几乎不存在的工作活动。综合证据表明，AI智能体能加速工作流、提升输出质量、降低成本，并扩展自动化工作的广度与深度。