Perplexity is a cutting-edge, AI-powered web search alternative that uses large language models to provide a conversational interface to the web, generating answers in real time instead of searching for them. This article explores how Perplexity operates, its unique features, and its advantages over traditional search engines and tools like ChatGPT.
Table of contents
- What is Perplexity?
- How Perplexity works
- Perplexity vs. ChaGPT
- Is Perplexity free?
- How to use Perplexity
- Advantages of Perplexity
- Limitations of Perplexity
- Conclusion
What is Perplexity?
Perplexity is an AI-powered research and conversational search engine designed to generate precise answers to user queries. The name “Perplexity” refers to an AI concept that measures how well a model predicts the correct response to a prompt, indicating the model’s effectiveness in handling new information. Perplexity produces human-readable, conversational answers, integrating citations from authoritative sources on the web.
As an “answer engine,” Perplexity focuses on understanding the intent behind questions and sourcing information from reliable sources to ensure accurate and relevant responses.
How does Perplexity work?
Perplexity is powered by several large language models (LLMs). LLMs are machine learning (ML) programs that can analyze and generate massive amounts of information.
LLMs are trained on large amounts of existing content, including books, web pages, and social media posts. They learn the meaning and structure of language using context and pattern recognition. Then, they use probabilities to determine the intent of your prompt and predict the right response, word by word.
Perplexity integrates a web crawler with LLMs. It builds a context for a series of user queries, performs a personalized search, and then generates a summary of search results with inline citations. All follow-up questions can be interpreted in the same context.
Which models does Perplexity use?
Perplexity blends foundational LLMs with custom-made proprietary ones. The paid version offers access to many models, including recent GPT, Sonar Lage, and Claude versions. The default and free versions don’t offer a choice in model use and may be one or two generations behind the cutting edge.
How does Perplexity differ from ChatGPT?
Perplexity and ChatGPT can both understand natural language and generate original content. However, there are key differences between the two platforms.
Search capabilities
Perplexity was created specifically to answer questions with real-time web information. Unlike some versions of ChatGPT, its answers don’t have an information cutoff. While ChatGPT can browse the web and integrate results into its responses, it requires extensions or custom prompts to support good summaries of search results with embedded references. ChatGPT is a more powerful and general-purpose AI tool and is not as convenient and slick when replacing a search engine.
Underlying models
Regardless of which version of ChatGPT you use, the underlying model is always part of the GPT series. Perplexity provides a choice between multiple models, including its own model, the GPT series, and many other foundational AI models.
Image generation
The premium versions of ChatGPT and Perplexity offer image generation, but the way they generate images is different. With ChatGPT, you can create any image you can imagine—all you need to do is enter a prompt. Perplexity, on the other hand, generates images meant to help augment and explain your search results. ChatGPT-generated images are yours to own and can be used for any purpose, including commercial ones. Perplexity images are meant only for personal and non-commercial use.
Is Perplexity free?
Perplexity offers both free and subscription-based options.
Free access
Free users can utilize the Quick Search feature for basic search queries and receive a limited number of advanced searches daily. These advanced searches, known as Pro Searches, leverage more sophisticated models to handle complex questions and perform more intensive searches.
Subscription access
Subscribers gain access to a significantly higher number of Pro Searches per day, along with additional features such as:
- Selection from multiple advanced AI models
- Limited image generation capabilities (up to a maximum per day)
- File upload functionality
This tier is designed for users who require more extensive and advanced search capabilities.
How to use Perplexity
Perplexity performs two core functions: acting as a search engine and generating original content.
Searching the internet
Whereas traditional search engines provide a list of links, Perplexity summarizes the results for you in a concise format. It also includes relevant links, videos, and images.
You can use it to help with a number of activities:
- Performing academic, market, or financial research
- Gathering information to help plan trips, meetings, and events
- Catching up on today’s news and weather
- Getting help with math problems and coding questions
Perplexity builds a context for your query as you search, and follow-up questions and explanations will adjust to your research as you progress.
Generating content
Perplexity is primarily a search and research engine. In order to support the sharing of search results and research, they also offer a product called Perplexity Pages, which includes content generation features such as:
- Creating a high-level summary of information for a particular audience
- Drafting informational and educational content
- Writing marketing communications, professional emails, and creative content
- Writing snippets of code
- Sharing curated and well-formatted search and research results with a wider audience
Interested in exploring more content generation tools? Grammarly AI helps you to plan, create, and refine your content. Because it works inside more than 500,000 websites and apps, it’s a convenient way to access generative AI.
Pros of using Perplexity
With Perplexity, you can search the web more easily and get information from reliable, fact-based sources.
Streamline search
Perplexity streamlines search. Instead of clicking on individual links to find the right answer to your question, you get an easy-to-read summary. It also provides related questions that make it easy to explore more. The Focus feature lets you home in on specific sources, like Reddit, YouTube, or scholarly articles.
Also, Pro Search asks follow-up questions to make sure Perplexity understands your question before responding. That way, you don’t have to go back and forth to refine its answers. Each conversation with Perplexity is available as a thread, and multiple related threads can be grouped into a collection—a space for collaboration and sharing research.
Real-time information from trusted sources
Perplexity’s search capabilities allow you to ask about up-to-the-minute issues like stock market trends and sporting events. It provides clickable citations in-text, so you can go directly to the source when you want to learn more.
Perplexity prioritizes fact-based, authoritative content in its search rankings. It calculates and maintains a “trust score” for sources, meaning its responses are more likely to come from sources like newspapers and academic publications instead of promotional websites.
Cons of using Perplexity
As with other generative AI platforms, Perplexity has its downsides. It’s not an exact replacement for search, and it can be inaccurate.
Limited search capabilities
When using Perplexity for search, it’s best to use it when you’re looking for the answer to a complex question or to learn something new. It excels at fact-curation and explanations. If you’re looking for a specific website, service, or person, traditional search engines are faster and more accurate. Perplexity also isn’t good at providing location-based information, so it’s not ideal for searching for nearby restaurants or getting directions.
Potential inaccuracies
Perplexity can sometimes be inaccurate. LLMs generate responses based on predictions, and they can make mistakes or invent false answers to questions. There’s no easy way to tell the difference between what’s accurate and what isn’t without double-checking all the sources and references in a response.
Take a new approach to search with Perplexity
By combining generative AI with a search engine, Perplexity makes searching the internet more convenient. The natural language capabilities allow you to engage in a conversation with Perplexity, and the Focus feature lets you customize your experience.
Even though Perplexity is prone to errors like other generative AI platforms, it also helps to combat misinformation with advanced capabilities, such as prioritizing and linking to trusted sources. With the right balance of convenience and credibility, Perplexity can be a powerful tool for anyone who wants to search the web in a new way.
