What Is Perplexity AI? Understanding One Of Google’s Biggest Search Engine Competitors

Although Perplexity is a newcomer to the LLM and AI space, it is gaining traction as a better alternative to ChatGPT. While ChatGPT is an LLM trained on conversational models, you can think of Perplexity as a supercharged search engine focusing on accuracy. 

However, like any technology, Perplexity AI has drawbacks. For example, ChatGPT might offer you a better interactive experience because it’s trained to be more conversational. Advanced features like access to GPT-4, Claude 3, and Mistral are also locked behind subscriptions. 

We’re here to help you identify the pros and cons. By the end of this guide, you’ll learn how to optimize queries and prompts in Perplexity, leverage different models to fit your needs, and best practices for boosting productivity. 

What is Perplexity AI?

Perplexity combines the power of a search engine with generative AI technology. Remember how ChatGPT, especially its free version, often hallucinates information it doesn’t have? This is one of the main issues Perplexity is trying to solve. 

Perplexity is designed to source extremely specific information. Unlike most LLMs trained to be conversational, Perplexity focuses on giving high-quality search results. But if you have specific use cases, you can easily switch between AI models. 

Whether conducting text-based research, handling data science inquiries, or exploring new topics, Perplexity AI has the tools and features to streamline your workflow. 

Key Features of Perplexity AI

Perplexity has many advanced features focused on accurate and high-quality search queries. Some even say that it's better than using Google for hyper-specific topics. Here’s what you can expect when using Perplexity. 

• Thread Continuity: One of the main issues with ChatGPT is continuity. It often forgets where you left off, requiring you to rewrite prompts over and over. Threads in Perplexity maintain continuity by carrying over search sources and images.
• User-Friendly Interface: Perplexity offers an intuitive interface that enables simple and advanced workflows. Think of Google, but with generative AI features that offer you insights and suggestions to make your search more optimized and efficient. 
• Multiple Query Modes: Perplexity tailors its output based on your query type. For example, if you’re writing an article and looking for specific statistics, you can use the Academic mode to find published studies rather than get results from blogs. 
• Visualizing Search Queries: You can visualize up to 50 answers daily with Perplexity Pro using AI photo generators like Playground AI, DALL-E, or SDXL. This lets you generate images based on your search for articles, social media posts, or emails.
• Related Queries: Perplexity offers related searches after providing answers to your query complete with sources and a summary. Think of it as a more tailored version of Google’s People Also Ask. 
• Citation of Sources: Perplexity provides citations for the sources of the answers, which improves transparency and allows you to verify the accuracy of the information and explore the topic even further. 
• Summarized Texts: If you want to get a quick overview of a topic, Perplexity can help you summarize texts. It’s perfect for grasping the main points of lengthy documents or getting a concise overview of complex topics.

Real-World Applications and Use Cases

Perplexity is best used as a search engine that can better understand the context of your queries thanks to its generative and conversational AI capabilities. Here are some of the real-world applications that make use of these features best: 

Academic Research

Perplexity is great at finding specific information and giving sources, making it a great tool for students and researchers. But since the output isn’t “conversational” like most LLMs, it could come off as robotic. 

If you want it to have a more conversational tone, you can use Perplexity in Writing mode. However, there’s a stark difference between the results from Academic Mode. Here’s a look at the results using the same query: 

Writing Mode

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Academic Mode

Content Creation

Perplexity has a new feature called Pages that’s still in beta. Thanks to its tailored approach, the concept is gaining traction as an alternative to blogs, articles, and informational pages. 

Pages are only available for select users, but they’re expected to roll out to more soon. To access pages, click on your Library and select Pages. Then, you’ll be prompted to provide a topic. 

Perplexity will then auto-generate not just an entire article but an entire page with relevant images, an interactive table of contents, and streamlined options for editing or rewriting content. 

Knowledge Base + Search Engine

You can upload your knowledge base with Perplexity’s search engine capabilities to generate more contextualized results with enriched data. But you can only upload text or PDF files. Perplexity, like most AI tools, still has trouble reading spreadsheet data. 

Still, Perplexity is great at handling PDF files, especially when using the Claude 2 model in writing mode. You can easily edit, extract, or analyze data within the PDF or enrich it through Perplexity search queries. 

Education and Learning 

Perplexity can help students quickly find answers to their questions, summarize complex topics, and offer explanations in a way that’s easy to understand. Using this tool, you can enhance lesson plans, create personalized learning experiences, and stay up to date with the latest trends in education.

Perplexity is a great tool for education because it can break down complex topics, provide personalized tutoring, and give feedback on one's work. 

Travel Planning 

Planning a trip can be overwhelming, especially when visiting a destination for the first time. Here’s where Perplexity can help. Got questions about destinations, places to crash, fun activities, or local eats? Perplexity can provide all the answers and even throw together an itinerary that fits your vibe and budget. 

Thanks to the live search, you’ll always have the latest updates on travel restrictions and safety guidelines. Here’s an example of a five-day Paris itinerary with practical tips and information.

Product Management 

Perplexity can significantly enhance product management by streamlining the information-gathering process and providing real-time insights. You can use it to quickly access market research, competitor analysis, and customer feedback to make informed decisions faster. 

By summarizing lengthy reports and distilling key data points, Perplexity helps you stay focused on your strategic goals without getting bogged down in details. Additionally, it can facilitate cross-functional collaboration by serving as a centralized knowledge base, making it easier for teams to align priorities and tackle challenges head-on.

Perplexity AI Pricing Plans

Perplexity AI offers a range of pricing plans tailored for individual users and enterprises. Here’s a summary of the available options:

Individual User Plans

1. Free Plan

• Unlimited Quick searches
• 5 Pro Searches per day
• Standard Perplexity AI Model optimized for speed and quality
• Create a profile to personalize your answers

2. Perplexity Pro for $20/month 

• Unlimited Quick searches
• 300+ Pro searches per day
• Select your preferred AI Model. Choose from GPT-4o, Claude-3, Sonar Large (LLama 3.1), and more
• Upload and analyze unlimited files
• Visualize answers using Playground AI, DALL-E, SDXL, and more
• Get $5/month in API credits

Perplexity Enterprise Pro

1. Self-Serve

• Companies with fewer than 250 employees can access Enterprise Pro through a self-serve flow, with pricing at $40/month or $400/year per seat.

2. Custom

• Perplexity offers flexible pricing for larger enterprises based on the total number of seats purchased.

How Perplexity AI Stacks Up Against Google

Perplexity is an AI search engine that delivers up-to-date answers complete with sources and citations. Unlike legacy search engines that provide a list of links, Perplexity leverages advanced natural language processing to interpret user queries and generate tailored responses, often including comprehensive summaries and citations. 

Besides this, Perplexity provides real-time knowledge, delivering the latest information on any topic. And the answers include links to sources, so you know where the information comes from. Whether you're researching renewable energy breakthroughs or just looking for tonight's dinner recipe, Perplexity adjusts to your needs. What makes Perplexity different from traditional search engines is that it suggests follow-up questions after every answer, so you can take your exploration even further.

To keep up with the latest updates in generative AI in search, Google introduced AI Overviews. AI Overviews provide links to resources that back up the information in the snapshot and let users dive deeper into the topic. Google’s goal is to improve the overall search experience by helping users get their answers faster. 

Here’s an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of Perplexity AI and Google: 

Comparison with Other AI Tools and Technologies

Perplexity is a powerful AI tool, especially if you use it like an advanced search engine. But how does it fare against other AI tools? Let’s find out. 

Jasper.ai Vs. Perplexity

While Perplexity focuses on empowering search queries, Jasper.ai is tailored for automating copywriting. With Jasper, you can streamline the copywriting process from idea to execution. 

With the Brand Voice feature, you can upload details about your company, competitors, or products to your knowledge base and teach Jasper how to write like you. This means you don’t have to compromise content quality for volume. 

ChatGPT Vs. Perplexity

If you’re focused solely on the search engine aspect of generative AI, Perplexity beats ChatGPT. Perplexity provides more accurate data and can even site sources. 

Perplexity also allows you to change search modes to fit your needs. You can use it to specify queries for academic, writing, video searches, or social discussions.  

Using the Social search model, here’s an example of using perplexity to reach a general consensus about AI-powered email marketing. 

Google Gemini Vs. Perplexity

Gemini is one of the most polarizing AI tools. Some users hate it; others love how Gemini can do advanced workflows, like ingesting two years of transcripts from earnings calls and investor documents in seconds and performing meaningful analysis.

The main reason for takes like these is Gemini’s inaccuracy when it comes to research. It also has the same issues with ChatGPT, where you need to repeat prompts or provide context again, even when you’re in the same thread. 

Key Takeaways

Perplexity is arguably one of the best AI tools for search queries. It makes up for its lack of conversational generative AI features with accurate answers. 

But if you’re looking for an AI tool for more creative workflows, like content writing, Jasper is the only name in the game. Try it out for free today. 

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