A New Study from Harvard and Perplexity Finds AI Agents Perform 26 Minutes of Autonomous Work per Session vs 33 Seconds for Search

- Harvard and Perplexity just proved what we’ve known since the first chatbot hallucinated a stock tip: AI agents are the new leverage. Their study shows autonomous agents handling 26 minutes of work per session versus 33 seconds for basic search. That’s not just efficiency; it’s a fundamental shift in how knowledge labor is priced. The data suggests agents cut task time by 87% and costs by 94% compared to human+search combos. While regulators debate if AI is "real" work, the market is already pricing in the displacement of manual grunt work. This isn’t about replacing humans; it’s about replacing the 20-minute manual research phase that moonboys use to justify buying top. If you’re still doing manual data entry in this cycle, you’re not an analyst; you’re a legacy cost center. Adapt or get liquidated.