What Is Perplexity AI? A $1 Billion Competitor To Google Search

Perplexed about Perplexity AI? We’ll explain all you need to know about this hybrid artificial intelligence that combines a chatbot and a search engine.

One particular app has managed to stand out despite the weekly flood of new artificial intelligence platforms into app stores, attracting the interest of large tech investors like Nvidia and Amazon in addition to the general public. This is mostly attributable to its unique method of using conversational AI.

Perplexity AI functions as a search engine powered by AI with the goal of making knowledge more accessible. Located halfway between AI chatbots and traditional search engines, it offers succinct, relevant answers to user questions along with more image and citation results than ChatGPT. This lessens the need to sort through links, which is frequently necessary when using Google.

The AI search engine has been around since 2022, but it has only recently attracted a lot of attention, mostly due to its $1 billion value. This book offers a thorough introduction of Perplexity AI, the search engine/chatbot hybrid, for individuals who are curious about its history and useful applications.

What Is Perplexity AI?

Perplexity AI is an artificial intelligence-driven conversational search engine that provides concise answers to user inquiries. The technology uses unique natural language processing models and LLMs including GPT-4, Claude, and Mistral Large to do real-time online searches and provide users with up-to-date and pertinent information.

Perplexity AI is the result of combining ChatGPT and Google Search. The app was created in 2022 by former employees of OpenAI and Google who were dissatisfied with the unrealized potential of their LLMs. Their goal was to “democratize access to knowledge” by improving public access to the abundance of information these models contain.

The Perplexity name was chosen by the team to represent their mission of helping customers get accurate and educational answers to even the trickiest or most challenging issues. This Silicon Valley-based application has evolved significantly since its launch and now provides a number of features beyond basic query answers. Find out how Perplexity AI can make your life easier by reading on.

What Can I Do With Perplexity AI?

Perplexity Because AI prioritizes precision and thoroughness, it can handle a wide range of tasks. These are some common uses for the platform.

• Access concise information: Perplexity offers users more targeted information compared to search engines, reducing the need to sift through search results and facilitating faster resolution of simple queries.
• Conduct thorough research: Unlike content generated by chatbots, Perplexity AI includes source links, enhancing its utility and reliability as a research companion.
• Create and edit code: Perplexity can generate code snippets and provide coding assistance, serving as a valuable tool for software engineers and developers.
• Solve mathematical problems: While the search engine can solve math problems, its capability is not as advanced as chatbots like ChatGPT for handling complex problems.
• Summarize PDFs: Users can utilize Perplexity AI to summarize lengthy or complex PDF documents, and they can also ask follow-up questions to quiz the search engine about this content.
• Translate files: Users can employ the tool to translate languages, both orally through audio files and in written form via plain text or documents like PDFs.
• Organize your library: Once users have accumulated several Threads with Perplexity, they can organize these conversations by project or topic and even invite contributors to participate.

Is It Worth Paying For Perplexity AI?

Access to Perplexity AI’s fundamental functionalities is free of charge. But a lot of its more sophisticated features can only be accessed with a $20 monthly or $200 annual membership to Perplexity Pro.

Perplexity’s free plan is sufficient if you want to use it for desk-based research and answering basic questions. It offers five Pro Searches a day, perfect for infrequent deep investigations, and runs on Perplexity’s unique LLM, Perplexity AI.

However the free plan doesn’t include file uploading, text-to-image alternatives, API access, or support from other LLMs. Therefore, upgrading to the commercial edition might be advantageous if your goals are to translate or summarize files, experiment with other language models, or create or modify graphics. To assist you in making an informed choice, Perplexity AI’s plans are compared below.

How Does Perplexity AI Compare to ChatGPT?

It’s hardly surprise that analogies between Perplexity AI and OpenAI are common given that the platform’s prompt-driven conversational interface was inspired by ChatGPT, the original chatbot, and that a former OpenAI employee was part of the founding team. These AI platforms are superior in different domains, even if they have similar pricing structures and share a number of fundamental features.

Perplexity is primarily a chatbot that can retrieve current information from the internet, functioning more like a traditional search engine. This function is also offered by ChatGPT, but only to those who pay for it. For those who want free access to brief insights on hot topics, Perplexity is the platform of choice.

In addition, Perplexity provides more thorough information than ChatGPT, including citations for all sources. Because of this functionality, the AI tool is especially well-suited for academic researchers and people working in research-intensive industries like marketing and data science.

But ChatGPT has its own benefits as well. More than Perplexity, the chatbot is a useful tool. Its exceptional data processing capabilities are the source of its skill in coding, mathematics, and content writing. Its simplified user interface also makes it the go-to option for a wider variety of people.

Furthermore, ChatGPT takes on a far more conversational tone than Perplexity. It does exceptionally well at answering complex, open-ended questions thanks to its enhanced natural language processing skills. As a result, the chatbot excels at creative tasks like ideation and content production, which appeals to consumers who prefer interactive communication.

While ChatGPT is still a well-known chatbot, there are a lot of deserving rivals to take note of. See how OpenAI’s tool compares to the competition among the top ChatGPT substitutes by perusing our guide.