Harvard researchers used evidence from Perplexity to publish the first large-scale study about how people use AI in the real world. Specifically, researchers wanted to answer three main questions: Who uses AI agents? How intensively are they using them? And what are they using them for?
The analysis focused on Comet, which is Perplexity’s AI-powered browser. The findings help uncover valuable information about the role of AI in a world where it’s becoming prominent. This information can help companies find new ways to use AI technology to their advantage.
Who is Using AI Agents?
Many people use AI, but the more important statistic is who relies on it. According to the study, those in the digital technology field use it the most. They made up nearly 30% of queries. Students were the next highest category, making up 15.6% of queries. Other knowledge-intensive fields, such as marketing, sales, management, and entrepreneurship also ranked fairly high.
Context plays a huge role in these results. Those in the financial field focused on efficiency and productivity while students focused more on learning and research. These results indicate that AI agents are versatile and can help a wide variety of industries. However, focusing on tools for the top-ranking industries could be beneficial to companies.
More than half of all agent activity focuses on cognitive work.
— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) December 9, 2025
Agent use is dominated by Productivity & Workflow (36% of queries) and Learning & Research (21%).
Users rely on the assistant to think through something, synthesize findings, and take action on those learnings. pic.twitter.com/MT0HzXNEUg
What are They Using Them for?
AI agents have evolved to offer much more than just answers. Everyone uses AI for different purposes, so the survey looked at what most people lean on it for.
36.2% of the AI agent activity was for productivity and workflow, such as editing, account management, and programming. 20.8% was for learning and research and another 20.8% was for media and entertainment.
While not all users are turning to AI agents for the same reasons, most of them are using AI to make life easier. When AI helps with tasks and research, it gives people more time to focus on other areas of their work. Rather than using AI to avoid work, they’re finding ways to do their tasks more efficiently.
How Intensely are They Using Them?
How intensely someone uses AI agents usually relates to how comfortable they are with them. Research suggests that new AI users typically start with simple or low-stakes queries to test the waters. Then, as they become more comfortable with the platform, they ask for more complicated tasks. Once users lean into complex queries, they rarely go back to the low-stakes ones.
For example, about 15% of first queries were about travel and leisure since that’s a relatively simple topic to look up. However, travel and leisure only made up a little over 5% of all queries. Learning and research made up about 13% of new queries and about 21% of all queries, indicating that people get more comfortable researching with AI over time.
Some people use AI intensely while others don’t, but it seems that the people who use it the most are those who have been using it for a while.
Help Your Brand Appear in AI Searches
With this 2025 data in mind, it’s clear that people from all industries are turning to AI for some tasks, whether it’s to help with research, productivity, or other areas. Because of this, ranking in AI-generated results is just as important as appearing in other search results.
Avenue Z helps brands with AI optimization to ensure customers can find them in AI searches. Contact us today to learn more about how we can improve your brand’s visibility.
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