Perplexity saves itself! Determined to enter the vibe coding arena, declares engineers don't need to look at code.

AI search company Perplexity is developing a code agent tool called Teammate, targeting Cursor, Claude Code, and OpenAI Codex. The tool has been available for internal engineers to试用 since May, capable of handling long-cycle engineering tasks, identifying security vulnerabilities, and adopting a "model-agnostic" design that is not tied to a single model. CTO Denis Yarats even stated that engineers should "stop looking at code" by the end of the year and let AI take over.

(Background: Anthropic's "Claude Cowork" extends to web and mobile devices, transforming into an all-around AI virtual colleague) (Background supplement: Why hasn't AI caused mass unemployment among software engineers? Latest research: Humans are irreplaceable in judgment and accountability)

Key Takeaways

• Perplexity is internally developing the agent tool Teammate, available for engineers to try since May
• Teammate adopts a model-agnostic design, switching underlying models based on tasks without being tied to a single provider
• Perplexity CTO Denis Yarats says engineers should stop looking at code and use AI directly by the end of the year

An AI company that started with a search engine is now diving into the programming arena to compete with others. Perplexity has been revealed to be internally developing a code agent tool called "Teammate," directly targeting three major players: Cursor, Claude Code, and OpenAI Codex.

According to foreign media, Teammate has been available for internal Perplexity engineers to试用 since May. Its main feature is not the shallow auto-completion of "suggesting code while typing," but rather handling longer-cycle engineering tasks, including advancing entire projects, troubleshooting system issues, monitoring service status, and even proactively identifying security vulnerabilities within internal systems.

Model-Agnostic is a Key Advantage

Teammate adopts a "model-agnostic" design, not tied to a single underlying model, and can switch between different large models based on task requirements. This differs from Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex, which are each tied to their own or specific models, and is the differentiating factor Perplexity is betting on.

The three competitors are highly influential: Cursor comes from Anysphere and was sold to SpaceX. Claude Code is Anthropic's official programming design tool, and Codex is OpenAI's cloud-based coding agent. All three are currently prominent players in the AI coding agent赛道.

AI programming tools have evolved over the past two years from "auto-completing while typing" to "assigning a task and letting it run the entire engineering workflow." The main battleground for 2026 is already the positioning of "AI engineering colleague," not "smarter auto-completion." Perplexity's entry at this point directly declares that search is not the only business it wants to pursue.

CTO Says Stop Looking at Code by Year-End

More intriguing is the internal sentiment. Perplexity CTO Denis Yarats has recently been pushing internally for engineers to rely more on AI for coding, directly stating that by the end of the year or sooner, engineers should "stop looking at code."

Software engineers should stop looking at code by the end of the year or sooner, and use AI directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Perplexity's AI programming tool Teammate?

Teammate is a code agent tool developed internally by Perplexity, available for engineers to try since May. It can handle cross-project long-cycle engineering tasks, including troubleshooting, monitoring services, and identifying security vulnerabilities.

Why does Perplexity's CTO want engineers to stop looking at code?

Perplexity CTO Denis Yarats believes that by the end of the year or sooner, engineers should let AI take over instead of staring at the code themselves, thereby pushing engineers to rely more on AI for coding.