Perplexity AI - Powerful AI Search
Search with an answer and its sources
Perplexity AI combines web search with generated answers and links to source material. Its standard search suits short factual questions, while Pro Search conducts several searches and synthesizes information for more complex queries. This page concerns the Perplexity search application; developer API access has separate billing and does not supply the same web-app subscription benefits.
For a research task, describe the question and the scope you need. A comparison can specify the products, relevant dates and criteria. Read the answer alongside its references rather than treating the summary as a finished report. Perplexity's own guide advises checking the linked sources to validate information.
Refine the question and inspect citations
Pro Search can draw on articles, academic papers, forums and videos. Its guide describes search modes for narrowing the source types, including academic material, finance and files. Pro users can select among supported models before a session. Model availability changes, so the current selector is more useful than an old fixed list.
Every Pro Search answer includes direct links to original sources. Follow-up questions retain context from earlier interactions, allowing you to narrow a comparison or ask for more detail. The documentation also describes a code interpreter for executing and analyzing snippets. That capability does not establish that generated code is correct or that every plan includes identical access.
Choose access for the task
The subscription guide distinguishes the free Standard tier, Pro, Max and Education Pro from Enterprise plans and the API Platform. Standard provides basic searches and limited uploads, with restricted Pro Search access. Advanced models and image generation are outside that free tier.
Pro expands search, file analysis and model access, and adds image and video generation. Research and file/app creation have plan-specific limits. Check the current allowance before budgeting a repeated workflow; a paid subscription should not be read as unlimited use of every feature.
Verify before sharing
Citations make source inspection possible, but do not guarantee that an answer interprets a source correctly. Review the original document's wording and date before quoting it or relying on the conclusion. Consumer and enterprise privacy provisions differ, and the subscription guide offers an opt-out for paid consumer plans. Review account settings before uploading sensitive documents. This overview draws on publisher documentation, not an account-level accuracy or privacy test.