Scheduled Tasks in Computer

Scheduled Tasks let Perplexity Computer run recurring work for you in the background — monitoring, reports, alerts, briefings — on a schedule you set.

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What are Scheduled Tasks in Computer?

Scheduled Tasks let Perplexity Computer run recurring work for you in the background — monitoring, reports, alerts, inbox checks, competitive tracking, daily briefings, and more — on a schedule you set. Computer runs each task autonomously in the cloud, so your laptop doesn’t need to be open. When something noteworthy happens, Computer sends you a notification and saves the full result to the task’s session. Scheduled Tasks live inside Computer on the Automations dashboard (perplexity.ai/computer/automations). Your Computer conversations stay under Computer (perplexity.ai/computer/tasks). Scheduled Tasks replace the older Perplexity Tasks experience and are built on Computer’s agent system, which means a scheduled task can use the same tools, connectors, and subagents — the helper agents Computer delegates parts of a task to — that you’d use in a one-off Computer conversation.

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Creating a Scheduled Task

You don’t fill out a fixed form. You describe what you want in plain language inside Computer, and Computer proposes a schedule for your confirmation. Figure 1 — Describing a recurring task in the Computer input box. You can also create a scheduled task from inside any existing Computer conversation — ask Computer to “run this every morning” (or whatever cadence) and it will schedule the recurring version of that work — or from the Create an automation box at the bottom of the Automations dashboard.

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How to verify it worked

Open the Automations dashboard. The task appears under Active with its cadence and next run time.

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Supported schedules

Scheduled Tasks support any recurring cadence as long as it runs no more often than once per hour. Supported cadences:

• Hourly
• Daily (at a specific time)
• Every weekday
• Weekly (specific day and time)
• Monthly
• Custom recurring schedules

Computer automatically converts the time you give it (in your local timezone) into the underlying schedule, and shows you the next run time in your timezone on the dashboard. Two things are not supported as a Scheduled Task:

• Sub-hourly cadences (more often than once per hour).
• One-time actions — use a one-time reminder instead (“remind me once tomorrow at 9am”).

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Background vs. attended tasks

Most scheduled tasks run in the background, meaning Computer spins up a fresh, isolated agent for each run with no prior conversation context. This is ideal for:

• Monitoring (prices, news, mentions, inboxes)
• Recurring reports and briefings
• Alerts and notifications

Some tasks need to run attended (with conversation context or richer tooling). Computer will pick this automatically when the task needs to:

• Generate a document (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Drive a browser (book something, fill a form, log into a site)
• Publish or update a hosted website
• Build on context from the conversation that created it

If a background task gets stuck — for example, instructions are unclear or it needs your input — it will notify you instead of guessing.

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Using connectors in Scheduled Tasks

Scheduled Tasks can use any connector you’ve linked to Computer, including Gmail, Slack, and Salesforce. Manage these from Customize in the left sidebar (perplexity.ai/computer/connectors). If a connector becomes disconnected or its authorization expires, Computer will surface a reconnect prompt the next time the task runs. After repeated failures on the same connector issue, Computer may pause the task so it doesn’t keep using credits while blocked — you’ll be notified, and once you’ve reconnected you can select Enable in that row’s Actions menu to start it again.

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Notifications

When a scheduled task produces something new or noteworthy, Computer notifies you. Available channels:

• In-app (default)
• Mobile push (via the Perplexity iOS/Android app)
• Web push
• Email

Manage notification preferences under Settings → Notifications. Each notification deep-links straight to the task’s session so you can review the full result and any artifacts. If a run finds nothing new (for example, an hourly inbox check with no new replies), Computer stays quiet — you only get notified when there’s something worth your attention.

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Managing your Scheduled Tasks

Open the Automations dashboard to see all your scheduled tasks, grouped under Active, Paused, and Completed. Each row shows the cadence and the next run time. Open the row’s Actions menu for Run now, Pause, Edit, Pin, and Delete, or select the task to open its detail page. Figure 2 — The Automations dashboard, with the controls for one task open in its Actions menu. From the task detail page, or from inside the conversation that owns the task, you can:

• See the next run time and recent run history
• Review past results and notifications
• Update the schedule or the instructions (“change this to every weekday at 7am instead”, “also include TechCrunch in the sources”)
• Pause the task, and Enable it again later
• Delete the task

To put a task on hold, open its Actions menu and select Pause. The row then reads Paused, and the menu offers Enable in place of Pause. Selecting Enable puts the task back on its normal schedule; Run now gives you a catch-up run without waiting for the next scheduled time.

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Tasks from other conversations

Each Computer conversation can own up to 15 scheduled tasks. Tasks created in one conversation are managed from that conversation. To find and manage a task created elsewhere, open the Automations dashboard for a unified view, or open the task’s own URL at perplexity.ai/computer/automations/<automation-id>.

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Credits and billing

Each time a scheduled task runs, it uses Computer credits — just like any other Computer work. A few things to keep in mind:

• Computer will tell you the schedule and remind you that each run uses credits before creating the task.
• If your account runs out of credits, or doesn’t have Computer access at the moment of a scheduled run, that run is skipped.
• Max and Enterprise Max plans include monthly complimentary credits for Computer tasks. See your plan details in Settings → Subscription.

To control spend, keep schedules at the lowest cadence that meets your need (hourly checks use more credits than daily ones), pause tasks you want to keep but aren’t using, and delete the ones you no longer need.

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Troubleshooting

My task didn’t run when I expected. Background tasks may take a few minutes to start after their scheduled time. If a run was skipped:

1. Open the task’s detail page and check the most recent run. Common reasons are insufficient credits, an expired connector authorization, or a task waiting on your input.
2. Check whether the task now reads Paused on the Automations dashboard. A paused task does not restart on its own, even once the original problem is fixed.
3. Open the row’s Actions menu and select Enable, then Run now if you want a catch-up run.

I’m getting too many notifications. Open the task and either lower the cadence (“change this to once a day instead of hourly”) or tell Computer to only notify on specific conditions (“only alert me if the price drops more than 5%”). I can’t find a task I created. Open the Automations dashboard for a list across all your conversations. I want to pause a task temporarily. Open the Automations dashboard, open the task’s Actions menu, and select Pause. The row reads Paused until you select Enable, and nothing runs in the meantime. Avoid using Delete for this — deleting removes the task permanently.

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Still not working?

Contact us via Help > Contact Support. Include the task name, the run time you expected, the status shown on the row, the exact error message if there is one, and the steps from this article that did not resolve the issue.

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Availability

Scheduled Tasks in Computer are available wherever Computer is available. Specific plan-tier limits on the number of active scheduled tasks are managed at the conversation level (up to 15 per conversation). For plan-level Computer access and credit allowances, see your subscription details.

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Related articles

• Delete scheduled tasks: Perplexity Tasks vs. Computer
• What is Computer?
• Effort mode in Perplexity Computer
• Computer for Enterprise

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Need more help?

Contact us via Help > Contact Support. Include the task link if your question is about a specific Computer task.