Perplexity AI
Real-time AI search with cited sources
Perplexity combines real-time web search with LLM reasoning, always citing its sources. It is the fastest way to get accurate, up-to-date answers with links to verify every claim.
Editor rating is our overall editorial judgment of the tool, out of 5. It is not a test score and not a user-review average. Ratings have not been re-scored since the tool was listed here. The reasons are in Best for and Pros & cons below.
You can use this without coding, but there is some setup before it is useful.
Best for
Pros & cons
✓ Pros
✗ What this won't do
Use cases
Market research
Competitor monitoring
Daily news briefing
Academic research
Type a question
Open Perplexity and type your question in the search box on the homepage. Ask it the way you would ask a person, for example "What are good first steps to learn Excel?"
Check the sources
Every answer cites and links the pages it used. Open a source or two to check a claim before you rely on it.
Ask a follow-up
Ask a follow-up question in the same session to dig deeper. Perplexity remembers what you discussed, so you do not need to repeat the background.
Pick a deeper mode
Harder questions have more modes, such as Pro Search and Deep Research. Choosing modes, models and sources, or attaching files, is for paid subscribers.
Compare alternatives
| Tool | Category | Editor rating | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity AI (current) | Research / Search | 4.7 | Free / $20 mo |
| ChatGPT | LLM / Assistant | 4.8 | Free / $20 mo |
| Claude | LLM / Assistant | 4.8 | Free / $20 mo |
| You.com | Research / Search | 4.4 | Free / $15 mo |