Perplexity AI Review: My Go-To AI Tool!
The question I get asked most often is, “What AI tool do you use the most?” The answer is easy: Perplexity AI. I use it every single day, multiple times a day. It’s become absolutely essential to my workflow, and in this Perplexity AI review, I’ll show you why.
I’m going to give you a complete guide to Perplexity, exploring its many features and showcasing innovative ways to leverage it to boost efficiency, learn new information, improve your health, and even increase your earnings. Think of this as the ultimate Perplexity AI review.
Key Features: A Quick Overview
Perplexity’s initial interface is intuitive: a text box for entering your questions and a dropdown menu to select your search mode. The options primarily include “Auto”, but Pro users have access to “Pro search”, “Deep research”, “Reasoning with R1”, and “Reasoning with 03 mini”. Personally, I mainly use “Auto” or “Deep research”.
Another useful feature is the ability to filter search sources: you can choose to search the entire web, limit your search to academic publications, or focus on social media (primarily Reddit). You can also upload attachments like PDFs and images to ask specific questions about their content.
Exploring and Organizing Information: Discover, Spaces, Library, and Pages
Perplexity isn’t just a search engine; it’s a knowledge management system. Here’s a breakdown of its core organizational features:
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Discover: This section is my daily “front page” for staying up-to-date on AI news. The “For You” tab presents personalized news based on my previous searches, while the “Top” tab offers a summary of the day’s most important news. There are also specific sections for Technology and Science, Finance, Arts and Culture, Sports, and Entertainment, with the ability to filter topics of interest.
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Spaces: Similar to Claude’s projects or ChatGPT’s custom GPTs, “Spaces” are customizable folders where you can provide specific instructions, contextual information, and, for Pro users, select a preferred language model. All conversations within a space are saved and organized. Think of them as mini-research projects.
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Library: Here you’ll find all your past conversations with Perplexity, easily searchable. It’s like a personal knowledge archive.
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Pages: This feature allows you to create AI-generated informational pages on specific topics, similar to small, personal Wikipedia pages. These pages are shareable via links and can be edited by adding sections and media.
Mobile App and Incognito Mode: Perplexity on the Go
The Perplexity mobile app offers almost all the functionality of the desktop version, with the addition of camera access to ask questions about what you’re seeing. There’s also a very convenient voice mode for asking questions aloud. And, importantly, there’s an incognito mode that prevents conversations from being saved in your library – perfect for sensitive searches.
Customization and Language Models: Tailoring Perplexity to You
In the settings, you can select from numerous languages and, for Pro users, choose the language model to use. The available options include Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4.5, Perplexity’s proprietary model Sonar (based on Llama), as well as Grok 2 and Gemini 2.0 Flash. This level of control is a huge advantage for power users.
Image Generation: Visualizing Your Ideas
Perplexity also integrates image generation. Although you can’t generate images directly from the prompt box, there’s a dedicated option where you can choose from different models (Flux 1, Dall-E 3, Playground V3) and enter a custom prompt to create images. This adds another layer of versatility to the tool.
Versatility in Everyday Use: How I Actually Use Perplexity AI
The versatility of Perplexity is what makes it such a valuable tool. This isn’t just theoretical; here are some of the actual ways I use it, demonstrating the breadth of this Perplexity AI review:
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Getting quick answers and verifying facts from social media posts or news articles.
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Clarifying definitions and explaining concepts, even complex ones like gradient descent in AI, with the ability to consult sources (academic or web) and get simplified explanations (“explain like I’m five”).
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Summarizing the content of URLs simply by pasting the link. You can also share, export as PDF or markdown, or have the answer rewritten, as well as receive suggestions for further questions.
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Getting real-time information on stock markets (like the price of Tesla stock) and sports scores (like the score of a Brewers game).
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Conducting in-depth research (“Deep research”) on complex topics, such as the pros and cons of different publicly available language models, obtaining detailed answers with source citations.
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Creating quizzes on specific topics to test your understanding.
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Getting step-by-step tutorials to solve practical problems, like replacing the air vent on a vehicle.
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Finding formulas for Excel and Google Sheets simply by describing the need.
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Receiving health assistance by creating a dedicated “Space” and uploading documents with personal information (medical details, lifestyle, etc.) and providing personalized instructions to get targeted advice.
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Planning trips, getting information on places to visit, the best times to avoid crowds, and the ability to export the information as a PDF.
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Making comparisons and product searches, with the ability to find the best prices and even buy directly from Perplexity (for some products).
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Conducting keyword research for SEO, identifying high-traffic, low-competition keywords.
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Providing analysis on real estate markets with the lowest cost of purchase and the highest growth potential.
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Performing stock analysis, providing a snapshot of fundamental, technical, and market sentiment analysis.
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Analyzing uploaded documents, such as handwritten notes, extracting relevant information.
The Future of Perplexity and Automations: What’s Next?
Perplexity is constantly evolving. A new web browser called “comment” is coming soon, promising a more “agentic” search and the ability to act on behalf of the user. Additionally, they have partnered with T-Mobile’s parent company to integrate Perplexity as the default AI in their upcoming smartphones.
The possibilities offered by the Perplexity API are immense, paving the way for complex automations. For example, You can create automations that use Perplexity to gather information on new AI tools added to a Google Sheet, send it to Claude and ChatGPT for further processing, and then return the information to a Google Sheet. Another automation sends research articles to Perplexity for an explanation, searches for related information on the web, and automatically updates a web page.
The Bottom Line: An Indispensable Tool
In conclusion, Perplexity AI has become an indispensable tool in my daily workflow thanks to its versatility and power. I use it constantly for a wide range of tasks, and its capabilities continue to amaze me. This Perplexity AI review has hopefully shown you why it’s so valuable.