Profile settings and permission sets in change sets
Key Takeaway
Tab settings travel with profile settings, not permission sets. To give users access to a new custom tab in the target org, include profile settings for their profiles in the change set.
A change set moves metadata from one Salesforce org to another. Users in the target org can't use the new features until they also get access to them. You carry that access in a change set with permission sets, profile settings, or both. The two options carry different settings and behave differently when you deploy them, so you need to know what each one brings.
Adding access to a change set
Adding profiles or permission sets to an outbound change set migrates user permissions, so users in the target org can access the new functionality. You can use permission sets, profile settings, or a combination of both.
The two go into the change set in different places. You add a permission set as a component. A profile isn't added as a component. Instead, you add profiles in a separate setting of the change set. The profiles you add there make up the change set's profile settings.