Perplexity is an AI-powered answer engine that combines real-time web search with large language models to give concise, sourced answers to questions across many topics.
What Perplexity is
- It is a search and chat service that responds conversationally while pulling in up-to-date information from the internet, always showing inline citations to its sources.
- The service is available on the web and as mobile apps, positioning itself as a way to “ask anything” and get credible, current answers quickly.
Key features
- Pro/Deep search modes support longer, more complex queries, structured research, and multi-step reasoning for in‑depth topics.
- Threaded conversations, follow‑up questions, voice input, and a personal “Library” make it easier to refine answers and revisit past work.
- It emphasizes transparency with cited sources in every answer so users can verify claims or read further.
Perplexity vs traditional search
- Traditional search engines mostly return ranked links, while Perplexity summarizes and explains answers directly, then links out to supporting pages.
- This reduces tab‑hopping for tasks like research, fact‑checking, or summarizing long articles, which the service is explicitly designed to streamline.