AI Summary
5 min readWhat Perplexity Computer Actually Does (And Whether It's Worth $200/Month)
Greg Eisenberg, host of The Startup Ideas Podcast, opens Perplexity Computer for the first time on a live stream. He has no affiliation with the company. He is on the $200/month Max plan, which is currently required to access the feature. His goal is straightforward: test whether this "computer in the cloud" — a persistent AI agent with tools, skills, and the ability to browse, code, send emails, and run recurring tasks — can actually help founders make money and be more productive.
The Cold Outreach Machine That Actually Works
Eisenberg's first test is the most ambitious: personalized cold outreach at scale. He asks Perplexity Computer to find 30 companies, research their founders and CEOs on LinkedIn, dig up recent news and pain points, and draft hyper-personalized cold emails — then send them through his connected Gmail.
The system immediately asks for details: what he's selling, his tone preferences, and his call to action. Eisenberg tells it he runs The Startup Ideas Podcast and wants podcast sponsorships. He asks it to research who advertises on TBPN (Technology Brothers Podcast Network), then target the top five companies.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Introduction & Setup** - Host introduces Perplexity Computer for the first time, aiming to test its value for founders.
- 2 (02:26) **Use Case 1: Warm Outbound at Scale** - Personalized prospect research and outreach in one shot.
- 3 (15:41) **Use Case 2: Automated Competitive Intel** - Recurring daily monitoring of competitor websites and social media with push alerts.
- 4 (25:14) **Use Case 3: Investor Pipeline Research** - Deep-dive research on 50 VC firms for a Series A raise.
- 5 (27:04) **Use Case 4: Podcast-to-Content Machine** - Turn a recording into blog posts, tweets, and LinkedIn content.
- 6 (31:48) **Use Case 5: Live Market Diligence** - Build a full investment research memo from a single ticker.
- 7 (34:21) **Bonus Use Cases & Final Thoughts** - Agent suggests additional use cases on the fly.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
I take Perplexity Computer for its first real spin and test five use cases that founders can use right now to make money and move faster. I connect my Gmail live, let the AI send cold outreach on my behalf, set up daily competitive intelligence monitoring, research 50 VCs for a mock Series A, and kick off a full investment memo on Shopify, all in a single session. By the end, I walk away genuinely impressed and convinced the $200/month Max plan can pay for itself with one closed deal.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
00:35 – What We're Testing Today
02:35 – Use Case 1: Warm Outbound at Scale
15:31 – Use Case 2: Automated Competitive Intel
25:11 – Use Case 3: Investor Pipeline Research (50 VCs)
26:58 – Use Case 4: Turn a Podcast Into a Content Machine
31:39 – Use Case 5: Live Market Diligence (Shopify Investment Memo)
34:17 – Bonus: Additional Use Cases Worth Trying
36:06 – Closing Thoughts and Takeaways
Key Points
- Perplexity Computer runs multiple research tasks in parallel using sub-agents, skills, and tools — functioning like a virtual analyst working across the open internet.
- The cold outreach workflow found real email addresses, researched each prospect's recent activity, and drafted hyper-personalized emails that reference specific details — then sent them through a connected Gmail account.
- Setting up recurring competitive intelligence monitoring (daily reports, weekly sponsor tracking) is where the tool shifts from a one-off assistant to a persistent agent running on autopilot.
- The VC pipeline research use case demonstrates how founders who lack a warm network can still build a structured, targeted investor list with fund sizes, thesis alignment, and partner contacts.
- At $200/month on the Max plan, the cost pays for itself if even one sponsorship deal or investor meeting closes from the outreach.
- The platform already supports connectors for Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, HubSpot, Ahrefs, Reddit, and more — making it a serious contender for centralized founder workflows.
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