Perplexity's Brain update: Computer now remembers how you work.
On July 13, 2026, Perplexity shipped the biggest Computer update since the Microsoft 365 integration: a self-improving memory called Brain, two new Claude models to run your tasks, mid-task model switching, one-click website publishing, and private-company research. Here's what each piece does and how to put it to work.
01 Brain: memory that compounds
Computer now learns from every task. Brain builds a private context graph across your sessions, connectors, files, and past decisions, then refreshes it overnight — so each new task starts already knowing what worked, what failed, and how you like things done. Two design choices matter:
- Every memory links back to its source — you can trace any remembered fact to the session it came from.
- You control what it keeps. Open Customize to audit memories and remove anything you don't want retained.
The prompt patterns that exploit it: "Pull my weekly finance update using the same format, sources, and tickers as last time" — or "Pick up the project from two weeks ago using the decisions, files, and people already in context." No recapping.
02 New engines — and switching mid-flight
Three model changes landed together:
- Claude Opus 4.8 in Fast mode — quicker responses for complex multi-step work. On web now; mobile coming soon.
- Claude Fable 5 as an orchestrator — pick it for your most involved tasks and it plans the work, routes subtasks to the right tools and models, and stitches the results together. Strongest fit: deep research synthesis and multi-source analysis.
- Mid-task model switching — change the orchestrator between follow-up turns in the same task. Start on a fast model, escalate to a heavier one for the hard follow-up, drop back down to iterate cheaply — without starting over.
Matching the model to the step is becoming a core AI skill, and Computer now lets you practice it inside one task instead of one conversation per model. Heavy planning → Fable 5. Fast drafting → Opus 4.8 fast mode. Cheap iteration → step back down.
03 Build a website, publish it in a click
Computer could already build web pages; now it can put them online. Publish to a Perplexity-hosted pplx.app address, or connect Vercel and deploy to your own custom domain. Access control is built in: just you, specific people, your whole organization, or everyone on the web — with a request-and-grant flow for private sites, and an org-admin switch to disable public publishing entirely.
Practical uses: a landing page shipped from a single prompt, an internal dashboard shared org-only, or a client-facing one-pager on your own domain.
04 The rest of the drop
- Private company research. Fundraising history, implied valuation, secondary pricing, and public marks on private companies — sourced from Forge Global, available to all Computer users, no license or setup required. Try: "Break down each Databricks funding round and explain what the cap table implies for IPO readiness."
- Usage analytics by model. See which models are doing your work and where credits go — for individuals and org admins, with an API to pull it into your BI tools.
- Mac account switcher. Swap between personal and work accounts without signing out; histories and settings stay separate.
- Streamlined homepage. Discover, Finance, Health, Patents, and Academic now live in a single menu.
05 Where this fits
Memory is the current front in the assistant wars — Claude has it, ChatGPT has it, and now Perplexity's agent has a version that's auditable and source-linked, which is the right way to build it. Combined with publishing, Computer is inching from "research agent" toward "does the whole job" territory. If you're new to Computer, start with Computer and Deep Research, then see Perplexity inside Microsoft 365 for the Office-side story.