Have we finally met a match for Google’s search dominance?
Perplexity AI, founded in August 2022 by CEO Aravind Srinivas, is an AI-powered search engine and research platform that aims to provide accurate and comprehensive answers to even the most complex questions.
With Srinivas's impressive background at OpenAI and DeepMind, Perplexity AI is poised to revolutionize the way we seek and process information online.
In this video/article, I dive into how you can leverage Perplexity AI for research and why it’s better than Google and ChatGPT for this use-case.
Perplexity AI's Background
Aravind Srinivas, the mastermind behind Perplexity AI, brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles at OpenAI and DeepMind.
Under his leadership, Perplexity AI has quickly gained traction, raising an impressive $100 million. With their latest Series B funding round valuing the company at $520 million.
The startup has attracted notable investors such as Jeff Bezos, Bessemer Ventures, Nvidia, and Databricks, showcasing the immense potential and confidence in Perplexity AI's mission.
The platform's user base has grown exponentially since its inception. As of January 2024, Perplexity AI boasted 10 million monthly active users, and by April of the same year, that number had skyrocketed to an astonishing 60 million monthly visitors (according to SimilarWeb website traffic).
This rapid growth is a testament to the platform's effectiveness and the growing demand for more efficient and accurate online research tools.
How Perplexity AI Works
Perplexity AI combines the capabilities of an AI chatbot with the power of web search, creating what CEO Aravind Srinivas refers to as an "answer engine."
The platform follows a three-step process to deliver comprehensive answers to user queries:
Understanding the question: Perplexity AI first analyzes and interprets the user's question to grasp the core intent and context.
Searching the web for relevant sources using multiple search terms: The platform then conducts a targeted web search, identifying the most relevant and reliable sources to address the question at hand using a variety of search terms for best results.
Providing a comprehensive answer: Finally, Perplexity AI synthesizes the information gathered from multiple sources to generate a thorough and accurate answer, complete with citations and links to the original sources for further reading.
Perplexity AI vs. Traditional Search Engines (e.g., Google)
When compared to traditional search engines like Google, Perplexity AI stands out in its approach to delivering answers. While Google primarily provides links to relevant websites, leaving users to sift through the information themselves, Perplexity AI takes it a step further by generating a direct answer.
By aggregating information from multiple sources, Perplexity AI can tackle complex questions that may not be adequately addressed by a single article or webpage.
The advantage of Perplexity AI lies in its ability to synthesize information from various sources, providing users with a comprehensive and well-rounded answer. Moreover, the platform includes citations and links to the original sources, allowing users to delve deeper into the topic if desired.
Not having to click into Google’s blue links and be spammed with ads is a nice touch too. Getting answers is clean and quick.
Perplexity AI vs. AI Chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT)
While AI chatbots like ChatGPT have garnered significant attention, they have their limitations.
These language models are trained on static datasets with a knowledge cutoff date, meaning they may struggle to provide accurate answers to questions about events that occurred after the cutoff.
Additionally, chatbots are prone to hallucinations, generating incorrect information when faced with queries beyond their training data.
Perplexity AI, on the other hand, searches the internet in near real-time, ensuring that the information provided is up-to-date and relevant.
By aggregating information from multiple sources, Perplexity AI minimizes the risk of hallucinations and delivers more accurate answers. This real-world data integration sets Perplexity AI apart from its AI chatbot counterparts.
Additional Features of Perplexity AI
Perplexity AI offers several unique features that enhance the user experience and cater to specific research needs:
Focus mode: Users can narrow down their search results to specific sources, such as Reddit, allowing for more targeted research.
Ask a PDF The platform enables users to upload and analyze personal documents, facilitating targeted research on specific topics.
Collections: Perplexity AI offers customizable search templates for specific research tasks. For example, I made a “competitive blog research template” which helps users analyze competing articles for SEO purposes, identifying keywords, post structure, and information gaps to improve their own content. The benefit of collections is highly specialized research search criteria can be repeated without having to re-type the commands each time.
Conclusion
Perplexity AI is changing the way we conduct online research, offering a powerful and efficient alternative to traditional search engines and AI chatbots.
By combining the capabilities of an AI chatbot with real-time web search and data integration, Perplexity AI delivers accurate and comprehensive answers to complex questions.
As the platform continues to grow and evolve, it will undoubtedly face challenges and competition from giants like Google and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
However, Perplexity AI's unique features, such as focus mode, PDF attachment, and collections, along with its emphasis on real-world data integration, position it as a formidable contender in the AI-powered search and research space.
The future of online research is bright, and Perplexity AI is at the forefront of this exciting transformation.
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