前沿人工智能系统通过从对话助理转变为端到端执行任务的自主代理，正在弥合智能和实用之间的差距。使用来自 Perplexity的 搜索和计算机产品, 的生产数据，我们通过检查人工智能代理如何加速和重塑知识工作来研究这一转变。出现了三个关键的实证结果。首先, 使用具有几乎相同的初始查询对的会话作为对两种产品尝试的相同基础任务的自然实验, 计算机在每个用户会话, 中执行 26 分钟的自主工作，而搜索则为 33 秒。计算机自动执行任务分解和执行，否则搜索用户可能手动编排和实施。因此，, Computer 将后续查询分配转向更高阶的工作，例如验证和扩展。自治还提高了执行质量,，计算机上的每个查询不满意率比搜索低 55%。其次, 由于其自主优势, 与仅配备搜索的人类相比，, 计算机将匹配任务的完成时间从 269 分钟减少到 36 分钟, 将估计时间和成本分别降低了 87% 和 94%,。第三, 计算机改变了用户尝试的工作范围: 计算机查询更频繁地跨越职业界限, 需要更高阶的认知, 借鉴更广泛的专业知识, 采用复合任务的形式，将相互依赖的子任务捆绑到单个查询中, 并解锁在相同用户之间的搜索使用中基本上不存在的工作活动。 , 证据表明人工智能代理可以加速工作流程, 提高输出质量, 降低成本, 并扩大自动化工作的广度和深度。

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的 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.

科目: 人工智能 (cs.AI); 普通经济学 (econ.GN)

Subjects: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); General Economics (econ.GN)