Perplexity CEO reveals jobs that will "disappear within 6 months"

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, one of the most ambitious startups in the world of artificial intelligence, has painted a striking and disturbing picture of the future of business.

In an interview with The Verge's Decoder podcast, Srinivas argued that the company's next-generation AI- powered browser, Comet, is capable of completely taking over the jobs of information technology workers.

“What used to take a human resources specialist a week to find and contact candidates is now just a command,” said Srinivas, bringing to the forefront both Comet’s mission and the danger of automation that awaits many professions.

HR EXPERTS AND ASSISTANTS ARE TARGETED

Comet, developed by Perplexity, aims to go beyond being a classic search engine and become a “true AI agent.” These agents can complete complex, multi-step tasks from start to finish, without requiring human intervention. According to Srinivas, the first area where this transformation will occur is the web browser, the tool most frequently used by office workers. The first professions to be affected will be recruiters and professionals who assist senior executives. For example, Comet can find engineers who studied at Stanford and previously worked at Anthropic, import them into a Google Sheets file along with their LinkedIn connections, and then reach out to them all at once by writing personalized introductory emails. Similarly, daily operations such as calendar management for managers can be delegated to Comet. Accessing Gmail and Google Calendar, Comet can process and add responses to the calendar, resolve conflicts, schedule meetings, and even provide the user with a brief pre-meeting summary. In this system, the human role is limited to defining what to do, not actually performing the work.

"FULL AUTOMATION IN SIX MONTHS"

While Comet still can't perfectly execute long-term, complex tasks, Srinivas says these hurdles will soon be overcome. His biggest hope is for upcoming AI models like GPT-5 and Claude 4.5.

The businessman said, "We're waiting for models with advanced reasoning capabilities to emerge to reach this point. I'm confident that within six months or a year, we'll be able to do the entire job."

If this prediction comes true, the job descriptions of many office workers could change dramatically in a few months.

A NEW LAYER OF AUTOMATION

According to Gizmodo, Srinivas' vision isn't just to improve the browser; it's to place it at the center of digital life. The goal is for the browser to become more than just a window to the internet; it's a layer of intelligence that constantly runs in the background, executing tasks. "We want to transform the browser into a tool that constantly runs in the background, like an operating system," Srinivas says, noting that users can launch various "assistant tasks" through Comet, allowing them to dedicate their time to other tasks.

This is a radical model that transforms office work from active tasks into fully delegated and monitored processes.

LIBERATION OR MASS UNEMPLOYMENT ?

Srinivas believes this development will free people from drudgery and free up time:

“People will probably ‘hang out’ more and scroll through X or other social media.”

But this optimistic outlook may overlook the reality that jobs that millions of people rely on could be eliminated by automation. Some might advance to new roles like "AI orchestrators," but many others could also find themselves out of work.