Are you tired of endlessly sifting through search results that seem to miss the mark? Or perhaps you've grown frustrated with AI tools that often fall short of your research needs?
It's easy to spend countless hours navigating through search results and wrestling with AI tools that rarely seem to deliver exactly what you need. But what if there was a solution that combined the smart, personalized conversational abilities of an AI chatbot with the dependable results of a search engine?
That's exactly what Perplexity AI offers! It combines intelligent conversational AI with reliable search results and citations. It pulls from multiple trustworthy sources, so you don't have to juggle a bunch of tabs and feel overwhelmed by information.
In this Perplexity AI review, I'll discuss what it is, who it's best for, and its key features. Then, I'll show you how I used Perplexity AI to conduct in-depth research, create and publish a Page, and organize my Threads into Collections.
I'll finish the article by comparing Perplexity with similar products like ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Microsoft Copilot. I'll even compare it to Google!
The goal is that you will know if Perplexity is right for you by the end. Let's take a look!
Verdict
Perplexity AI delivers precise, evidence-backed answers with real-time, in-depth information and follow-up questions. While it provides fast searches and efficient research organization, it may struggle with complex topics and lacks depth compared to Google. Plus, despite citing its sources, its information may still be inaccurate.
Pros and Cons
- Delivers AI-powered, human-like responses with reliable cited sources.
- Provides real-time, in-depth information.
- Integrates various language models.
- Offers concise answers to reduce information overload.
- Filters content from social media, video, and academic publications.
- Follow-up questions and related topic ideas help you get a better understanding.
- The user-friendly design is available on Android and iOS for easy mobile access.
- Enhance the search experience with personalized options.
- Organize your research into collections.
- Upload and analyze unlimited files on the Pro plan.
- Integrates with the latest language models.
- Available in multiple languages.
- Built-in AI image generators.
- Perplexity AI may still provide biased or incorrect information.
- It may lack depth for detailed or specialized topics.
- Less feature-rich compared to Google services.
- It may not meet all specific search needs.
- Struggles with complex science topics beyond math.
- Lacks some problem-solving capabilities.
What is Perplexity AI?
Perplexity AI is an advanced AI-powered tool designed to revolutionize information discovery and exploration. Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity understands context, interprets complex questions, and provides concise, evidence-supported answers. It's like talking to a knowledgeable assistant.
Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and the latest AI models, Perplexity AI moves beyond keyword matching to understand the meaning behind questions. It offers more accurate results and eliminates the need to open multiple tabs for research!
Here's what Perplexity can do:
- Summarize content: Condense lengthy articles, documents, and webpages into concise summaries to grasp key points quickly.
- Organize research: Create and manage Collections to easily access and share information across different projects or topics.
- Explore topics in depth: Use the Copilot feature for guided, comprehensive searches that provide detailed insights into complex subjects.
- Interact with data: Analyze uploaded files and answer questions about the data, integrating seamlessly with web searches for a complete view.
Pro Search offers personalized, in-depth search experiences for precise results. It goes beyond the typical search engine by providing clear, direct answers.
What sets Perplexity apart is its focus on accuracy and transparency. It shows the sources for each answer, allowing you to verify the information. Perplexity also supports a more engaging search experience by suggesting related topics and follow-up questions, fostering a deeper understanding.
Lastly, Perplexity enhances collaboration and customization through flexible settings and privacy controls, making it a versatile tool for modern research needs.
Who is Perplexity AI Best For?
This to0l serves all kinds of people with various needs:
- Researchers can use Perplexity AI to efficiently source and site academic articles and research papers, saving time on information gathering. They can use Perplexity to get direct answers with citations, reducing the need to sift through multiple search results.
- Students can use Perplexity AI to get concise, reliable information for essays and projects, helping them better understand complicated topics. Perplexity helps students do better research and get better grades. For example, students can use Perplexity to explore follow-up questions for deeper learning and critical thinking.
- Business professionals can use Perplexity AI to perform competitor analysis and stay updated on industry news without sifting through endless articles. With Perplexity, they can access unbiased insights to make informed decisions.
- Content creators can use Perplexity AI for efficient research and generate SEO-friendly content that resonates with their audience. For example, they can use Perplexity AI to research keywords and generate structured content outlines.
- Teams can use Perplexity AI to streamline research collaboration by sharing collections and insights. Teams can organize information to foster better teamwork and efficiency!
- Data analysts can use Perplexity AI to interpret complex datasets and gain more precise insights by combining data from various sources. Lastly, they can explore data visualization techniques to present their findings effectively.
- Travel planners can use Perplexity AI to create personalized itineraries and get real-time travel information. They can plan trips more efficiently based on weather updates, local events, and user reviews.
- Developers can use Perplexity AI to generate code, stay updated on the latest programming trends, get coding help with examples and best practices, and quickly access tutorials.
- Casual users can use Perplexity AI to answer everyday questions quickly and directly. Perplexity makes it much easier to learn new facts without sifting through irrelevant links. They can also dive deeply into various topics for a broader understanding with insights from reliable sources.
Perplexity AI Key Features
Perplexity AI offers some unique features unlike any other chatbot or search engine:
- Question Answering: Perplexity AI excels at providing accurate and detailed answers to complex questions, acting like a knowledgeable friend or expert. It uses multiple sources to ensure reliability, minimize bias, and offer a broad perspective. While the answers may not always be accurate or unbiased, the answers are always up-to-date and provided in real time.
- Content Summarization: Perplexity AI’s content summarization feature efficiently extracts key points from long texts, making it invaluable for quick information retrieval. It helps you grasp essential details more efficiently, saving time and simplifying complex topics.
- Guided Search with Copilot: Perplexity AI's Copilot enhances online research by guiding you with relevant follow-up questions and related topics, making the search experience more interactive. It offers a more structured approach than traditional search engines for a deeper topic exploration.
- Pro Search: Pro Search in Perplexity AI provides advanced research capabilities, offering access to exclusive databases and academic resources for comprehensive information. It understands your responses by asking further questions, summarizes discoveries, and uses a variety of sources for a comprehensive perspective.
- Quick Search: Perplexity AI’s Quick Search delivers immediate answers for fast information retrieval. It's excellent for quick fact-checking or simple queries. It offers concise results, bypassing the need to sift through multiple search engine pages.
- Collections: Perplexity AI's Collections feature helps you organize and manage your research by creating digital libraries based on the project or topic. It allows you to save, annotate, and categorize resources, turning Perplexity into a personal knowledge base.
- File Upload Feature: Perplexity's file upload feature allows you to attach text-based files (e.g., documents or code) to analyze content and maintain context for follow-up questions. It supports various formats (plain text, code, PDFs, or images), providing tailored insights while keeping files private and accessible for 30 days.
- Data Interaction: Perplexity AI facilitates interactive data exploration of the files you upload to analyze complex datasets quickly. It simplifies data interpretation with natural language queries so you can effortlessly extract insights and make data-driven decisions.
- Convert to Page: This feature transforms a conversation thread into a single, organized page for easy viewing and sharing. It helps streamline information, making it more accessible and readable in a structured format.
- Collaboration Tools: Share Threads and Collections with others. By default, Threads are private, but you can make them public for teamwork or shared research by simply clicking “Share.”
- API and Developer Tools: Perplexity AI offers robust API and developer tools for seamlessly integrating various platforms. These tools empower developers to create innovative, AI-driven solutions tailored to specific user needs.
How to Use Perplexity AI
Here's how I used Perplexity AI to do in-depth research, create and publish a Page, and organize my Threads into Collections:
- Sign Up for Perplexity
- Adjust Account Settings
- Create a New Thread
- Convert the Thread to a Page
- Edit & Add Sections
- Preview & Publish Your Page
- Create a Collection
Step 1: Sign Up for Perplexity
I started by going to perplexity.ai and selecting “Sign Up.” I could've stayed on the free version, but I wanted to see what the Pro version of Perplexity could do!
Here's what Perplexity Pro comes with:
- 300+ Pro searches per day.
- The ability to choose my AI model.
- Upload and analyze an unlimited number of files
- Generate AI images.
- $5.00 per month in API credits.
Step 2: Adjust Account Settings
After upgrading my account, Perplexity took me to my account settings.
Here are some notable settings you may want to tweak:
- Appearance: Set your preferred theme for Perplexity (Dark or Light mode).
- Language: Set your preferred language (English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, or Hindi).
- AI Model Options: Choose from the latest models like Claude 3.5, GPT-4o, and Sonar.
- Image Generation Model: Select the image generation model.
- Pro Discord: Access Pro Discord.
- Pro Support: Access support options for Pro users.
I kept everything on default, but you may want to customize these settings to make the platform more tailored to your needs.
Step 3: Create a New Thread
I selected “Home” at the top of the left-hand menu to access the Perplexity AI chatbot. Alternatively, I could've used the “Ctrl + I” shortcut to start a new Thread from anywhere on the Perplexity platform.
In the empty field in the center, I could ask Perplexity anything I was curious about. Alternatively, I could select one of the topics generated below.
Below the empty text field were “Focus” and “Attach.”
Selecting “Focus” allowed me to choose where Perplexity should pull its sources:
- The Web.
- Published academic papers.
- Online discussions.
The Focus option also allowed me to choose how I wanted to use Perplexity:
- Generate text or have a conversation without using the Internet.
- Solve math equations.
- Find and watch online videos.
Next to “Focus” was “Attach.” Selecting “Attach” allowed me to upload files from my device that Perplexity could analyze.
I could also turn on the Pro toggle with the short key “Ctrl + .” The Pro toggle gave me a list of breaking news I could click to get Perplexity to research. This list reflects the news articles in the left menu in the “Discover” tab.
Leaving the Pro toggle in Perplexity would make my searches more in-depth and detailed, providing comprehensive insights. Unlike Quick Search, Pro Search enhances result precision and depth while linking to more trustworthy sources and displays the steps to reach its conclusions.
I had to try Pro Search for myself, so I selected the first research suggestion (“The Birthday of Linux”). Within seconds, Perplexity began generating a detailed summary with citations!
Here's what Perplexity Pro generated by searching “The Birthday of Linux”:
- The history, development, and significant dates of Linux.
- The sources Perplexity used to gather this information.
- Relevant images and videos.
- Related topics to continue the conversation.
I could also generate images in four styles (painting, photograph, illustration, or diagram). Below the generated content, Perplexity also gave me the option to share, rewrite, copy, edit, or view the query's sources. I could also ask follow-up questions in the empty field at the bottom.
On the top right were a few more options:
- Add the Thread to a Collection.
- Delete the Thread.
- Save to Bookmarks.
- Convert to Page.
- Share.
Step 4: Convert the Thread to a Page
I was curious about the “Convert to Page” option and selected it from my Thread at the top right. Perplexity transformed the conversation into a neatly formatted page within seconds, making it easier to read and share! Everything was editable, including the layout.
Step 5: Edit & Add Sections
At the bottom of the page, I could continue adding sections in different formats. I could also choose whether or not I wanted Perplexity to be concise or detailed. I also loved the topics it suggested to prevent writer's block!
On the top right, I could preview and publish the page I had just generated with Perplexity.
Step 6: Preview & Publish Your Page
Selecting “Publish” immediately published my page to Perplexity! I could also share it on Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook or copy the link. Converting my Thread into a Page and publishing it to Perplexity allowed me to share the information Perplexity compiled seamlessly with others.
Step 7: Create a Collection
I selected the Library tab from the left menu to access my Threads and Pages and organize them into Collections.
Collections in Perplexity allowed me to categorize my Threads for better management and easy access. I could also use Collections to collaborate with others by sharing these organized threads! To create a collection with Perplexity, I had to give the collection a title, emoji, description, and optional AI prompt.
Perplexity AI impressed me with its different features and ease of use. I enjoyed exploring the Pro version, which allowed me to perform in-depth research with detailed summaries and citations without opening a million tabs.
The “Convert to Page” feature stood out to me. It allowed me to transform my Threads into well-organized pages for easy sharing and editing. The Collections feature was also incredibly useful, allowing me to organize and share my content with others.
Perplexity vs ChatGPT
Perplexity AI and ChatGPT are both AI tools that use advanced language models to provide responses based on inputs. However, they differ significantly in their primary functions and user experiences.
On the one hand, ChatGPT is more of a general-purpose AI chatbot capable of performing a wide range of tasks. It answers questions, solves problems, generates content, and analyzes data. It is a versatile assistant, adaptable to many uses beyond just providing information. Its multimodal capabilities allow it to process and generate text, images, and audio.
In contrast, Perplexity AI is more specialized. It focuses primarily on delivering accurate and up-to-date information like a search engine.
Perplexity is designed to offer more reliable, well-referenced answers by sourcing information from across the web. Its use of citations makes it a better choice for those looking for fact-based, research-driven responses. Perplexity AI conducts comprehensive searches and provides summarized information from various sources.
While both tools have unique strengths, the choice between them depends on whether you need a comprehensive AI assistant (ChatGPT) or a focused, research-oriented tool (Perplexity AI).
Strengths and Limitations of ChatGPT
ChatGPT is great at giving clear answers and dealing with many questions quickly. It does well in understanding the context and sharing helpful information.
However, ChatGPT sometimes gives false or unhelpful answers. It may also have trouble with complex or detailed questions, resulting in inaccurate answers. Despite these issues, many people still like using ChatGPT for different tasks. As frustrating as it can sometimes be, I love ChatGPT, and its models keep improving!
Here's a chart summarizing the strengths and limitations of ChatGPT:
Strengths | Limitations |
Provides clear answers quickly. | Sometimes gives incorrect or unhelpful answers. |
Handles a wide range of questions. | Struggles with complex or detailed questions. |
Understands context well and shares helpful information. | Less accurate in complex scenarios. |
Widely liked for its versatility in various tasks. |
Perplexity Strengths | Google Strengths |
Provides quick, clear answers for “how-to” and complex queries. | Best for in-depth, exploratory searches. |
Direct answers like an expert, avoiding long lists of links. | Great for finding specific resources and nuanced searches. |
Focuses on quality and trustworthiness, including citations. | Integrates with Google’s suite (Docs, Maps, Calendar). |
It uses AI for personalized results and concise answers and supports organizing findings into Collections. | Excellent for managing diverse topics and supporting exploratory searches. |
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