Perplexity

What it does

Perplexity is an AI-powered answer engine — think of it as a search engine that reads the web for you and answers in plain language with citations. Instead of a page of links, you get a direct answer you can verify and follow up on. Pro and Max tiers add a model picker (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and more), Deep Research reports, file analysis, and the agentic Perplexity Computer.

Who it suits

Best for researchers, students, shoppers, and curious minds who want trustworthy, cited answers fast — and who are tired of ad-cluttered search results.

Why it's trending

Perplexity pushed hard into agentic AI in 2026 with Perplexity Computer (10,000 credits/mo on Max), Model Council multi-model answering, and the Comet AI browser — positioning it as more than a search tool.

Key features

• Cited AI answers synthesized from live web sources
• Model picker with frontier models from multiple providers (Pro)
• Deep Research for long-form sourced reports (Pro)
• Perplexity Labs for building dashboards and mini-apps
• Perplexity Computer — agentic multi-step task automation (credits)
• Comet AI browser integration

Pricing

Verified October 10, 2026 — always check the official site for the latest pricing.

Free plan

Free tier with near-unlimited basic searches with citations and a few Pro searches per day.

Limits: ~5 Pro searches/day, no Deep Research or Labs, no manual model selection, limited file uploads.

Beginner use cases

• Get a direct, cited answer instead of scrolling through search results
• Research a big purchase with side-by-side comparisons
• Ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into any topic

Official website

https://www.perplexity.ai