> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Month in Australian AI: February 2026 - URL: https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/recap-australian-ai-february-2026/ - Published: 2026-02-27T23:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T06:46:36.000Z - Description: Agentic AI moved from demo to default, and the models jumped a generation. Our recap of the month that reset the baseline for Australian users. - Author: Adam - Tags: Editorial, Monthly Recap, #editorial February had a single through-line. Agentic AI moved from demo to default, and the models jumped a generation underneath it. For most of 2025, "AI agents" meant a slick keynote video and a waitlist. This month that changed. The big labs shipped agents you can actually run, and they shipped them on top of new flagship models. For Australians weighing which tools to pay for, the baseline reset. Here's what happened, and what it meant if you work here. ## The models jumped a generation The month opened with Anthropic. On 5 February, [Claude Opus 4.6](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/tools/) arrived with a one-million-token context window and support for agent teams. That context size matters for real work. You can drop a full contract, a year of board papers, or an entire codebase into a single prompt and ask questions across all of it. Then on 17 February, Claude Sonnet 4.6 became the new default model at the same price as the version it replaced. We covered the [Sonnet 4.6 update](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/claude-sonnet-4-6-australia/) in full. The short version: most paying users got a meaningful upgrade for nothing. Google moved too. On 19 February, Gemini 3.1 Pro shipped, keeping Google in step with the frontier. The gap between the top labs narrowed again. The pattern is clear. The premium tier of every major assistant got smarter in February, and in Anthropic's case it got cheaper to access per token of context. If you priced these tools in January, your maths is out of date. ## Perplexity went all-in on agents Perplexity had the busiest month of any single vendor. It started on 5 February with the Model Council, which routes a query across several models and weighs their answers. On 6 and 13 February, Deep Research was upgraded to Opus-class reasoning. We wrote up [what the Deep Research upgrade means](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/news-perplexity-deep-research-opus-australia/) for Australian users, because it changes what a $30-a-month subscription actually buys. The headline came on 25 February with Perplexity Computer, an agentic digital worker that operates a browser and completes tasks rather than just answering questions. Our [first look at Perplexity Computer](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-perplexity-computer-first-look-australia-2026/) covers what it does and where it still needs a human in the loop. Comet, Perplexity's browser, also opened iOS pre-orders during the month. Australian users can register interest, but local availability and AUD pricing remain the open questions, as they often are for us. ## Notion put custom agents in front of everyone On 24 February, Notion shipped version 3.3 with Custom Agents now generally available. These are agents you build inside your own workspace to handle repeat jobs, such as drafting updates or sorting a database. There's a catch worth flagging for Australian small businesses. The free trial runs to 3 May, after which agent use becomes credit-metered. Translation: budget for it. A workflow you build and rely on in March could carry a running cost from May. Note the date now. ## Image and music generation kept pace Two creative releases rounded out the month. Nano Banana 2 landed as a new image generation model, and we published a [first look at Nano Banana 2](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-nano-banana-2-first-look-australia-2026/) for anyone making marketing visuals on a budget. Lyria 3 arrived for music generation, and our [Lyria 3 first look](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-lyria-3-first-look-australia-2026/) walks through what it can and can't do for Australian creators. Neither replaces a designer or a composer. Both lower the floor for a sole trader who needs a passable asset today and can't justify a freelancer. ## Google opened a new consumer tier From 20 February, Google moved into a new "AI Plus" era, a consumer subscription tier sitting below its top plan. We covered the [Google AI Plus first look](https://www.theaidirectory.com.au/review-google-ai-plus-first-look-australia-2026/), including the AUD pricing question that decides whether it's worth it for an Australian household. This matters because pricing tiers are how these tools actually reach everyday users. A cheaper plan with most of the useful features will pull in people who would never pay for the flagship. ## What it meant for Australians Two things changed in February that you should act on. First, the agent era stopped being a preview. Perplexity Computer and Notion's Custom Agents are tools you can use this week, not demos you watch. If your work involves repetitive research or browser tasks, it's now worth a serious trial. Second, the price of capability fell. Sonnet 4.6 gave existing subscribers a free upgrade. Opus 4.6's million-token context made document-heavy work practical on a single subscription. Google's AI Plus tier opened a cheaper door. You get more for the same money than you did a month ago. The catches are the usual ones for us. AUD pricing and GST treatment still trail the US announcements. Notion's metered agents will carry a cost from May. And "available" in a launch post rarely means available in Australia on day one. Our advice for March: re-trial the tool you dismissed in January. It is almost certainly more capable now, and quite possibly cheaper. ## Sources - Anthropic — Claude Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 announcements: https://www.anthropic.com/news (Primary, checked 28 February 2026). Wayback snapshot queued (SPN pending). - Google — Gemini 3.1 Pro and AI Plus: https://blog.google/technology/ai/ (Primary, checked 28 February 2026). Wayback snapshot queued (SPN pending). - Perplexity — Model Council, Deep Research, Perplexity Computer, Comet: https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog (Primary, checked 28 February 2026). Wayback snapshot queued (SPN pending). - Notion — version 3.3 Custom Agents: https://www.notion.so/releases (Primary, checked 28 February 2026). Wayback snapshot queued (SPN pending).