What is Perplexity AI?

Perplexity AI is a new AI-powered search engine that provides users with comprehensive, cited answers to their questions. Perplexity AI aims to leverage artificial intelligence to offer more accurate and reliable information. 

The “Ask” featurecore of Perplexity AI, functions similarly to Google’s search bar. Users type queries, and Perplexity’s language models analyze it, before gathering relevant sources from the internet to generate detailed responses, including citations, allowing users to verify the information.Perplexity AI models were designed to prioritize reliable, factual information from reputable sources. This prevents the AI from producing potentially incorrect or unsubstantiated answers.

Since its launch in 2022, Perplexity AI has been gaining positive traction for its user-friendly interface and ability to provide comprehensive, cited responses. It is an innovative use of AI technology to enhance the search experience with accurate and reliable information.

Reliabitlty of the sources? 

Perplexity AI gathers information from various search engines and databases, with Microsoft Bing being a primary source. The tool’s AI then analyzes these sources to provide answers supported by citations.

User reviews indicate Perplexity AI offers reliable accuracy. By including citations, the tool enables users to check the veracity of responses. Many appreciate this level of transparency.

However, as an AI-based tool, Perplexity is still susceptible to inaccuracies. The founders claim it is more accurate than other AI services. But errors remain possible, as with any question-answering system. Perplexity AI utilizes generally trustworthy sources and includes citations. But users should continue to think critically and verify any information provided, as they would with traditional search engines. While a useful AI tool, some degree of unreliability persists.

The features of Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI has an intuitive interface for efficient searching. Key features include:

• Simple, Google-style search bar for quick queries
• Real-time web results using the latest information
• Detailed citations and sources for answer verification
• Chatbot capabilities via Perplexity Ask, powered by GPT-3.5 and Bing
• Accessibility on web and iPhone app
• Search history display and personalization
• “View List” button to see all sources examined

Perplexity AI focuses on usability, speed, transparency through citations, chatbot functionality, multi-platform availability, and personalization. These features allow users to search efficiently and evaluate answer reliability.

Though still rapidly evolving, Perplexity AI already provides an impressive suite of capabilities.

• Edit Questions: You can edit and reword your questions incase you aren’t satisfied with the response.
• Entity Linking: Perplexity links to new topics you might be curious about.

• Focused Search: You can streamline its focus to different domains such as Wolfram Alpha, Wikipedia, Reddit, YouTube, News articles, Academic Papers, etc… 

• Threads: Perplexity AI can save your search threads (a single back-and-forth session with the AI) and lets you share them with other users.

• Interact with other Shared Threads: You can ask follow-up questions or click on the related questions for that thread.
• Curated Sources: Perplexity AI lets you edit the sources that can be relied upon for a particular search. 
• Copilot: Powered by GPT-4, this AI tool guides your search experience. The uses are limited because it uses GPT-4. Currently, the usage is limited to 5 uses per 4 hours.

• Chrome extension: Perplexity – Ask AI is a Chrome extension allows you to use Perplexity while browsing the Internet. 
• Mobile App: Perplexity AI launched an iOS app, the Android app is in development. 

A comparison of Bard, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT

Here is a comparison of the features of Bard, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT based on pricing, accuracy of response information, mobile-friendliness, usage, user-friendliness, and API capabilities:

	Bard	Perplexity AI	ChatGPT
Pricing	Experimental stage: Free	Free version available. Paid “Perplexity AI pro” version costs $20/month	Free version available. OpenAI is releasing a paid “ChatGPT Plus” version costing $20/month.
Accuracy of Response	Varies according to the complexity of the question, The context of the question, The user’s intent, the quality of training data.	Emphasizes accuracy and reliability. Displays sources and citations for reliable answers.	Provides responses based on pre-trained language models. Accuracy may vary depending on the quality of training data.
Mobile-friendliness	Not available as a mobile app.	Accessible through web and iPhone app.	Accessible through web and mobile devices.
Usage	Designed for creative writing, storytelling, and providing up-to-date information.	AI-powered search engine and chatbot. Provides real-time web search for up-to-date information.	AI-powered chatbot that can engage in conversational interactions. Can be used for answering questions, generating text, and assisting with tasks.
User-friendliness	Includes user-friendly features, simple to use.	Simple and straightforward interface. Displays sources and citations for reliable answers.	Can engage in conversational interactions.
API Capabilities	Provides API for a limited number of users. Can be used for generating content for marketing. social media, and entertainment purposes.	Provides API Can be used for research purposes  since it emphasizes accuracy and reliability in providing comprehensive answers along with the sources and citations.	Provides API based on OpenAI’s GPT technology. Can be used for Chatbots,Content Generation,Virtual Assistants,Language Translation,Education and Learning,Game Development.

In summary, Bard, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT have different focuses and functionalities. Bard is specifically designed for creative writing, Perplexity AI is a search engine and chatbot that emphasizes accuracy and reliability, and ChatGPT is a versatile chatbot that can engage in conversational interactions. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Perplexity AI brings innovation to the search experience through its integration of AI technology. Its interface allows efficient querying, while its responses aim to provide verified accuracy by citing sources. Useful features like real-time results, chatbot capabilities, and personalization create a robust user experience. For registered users, Perplexity AI enables thread sharing and management, curated sources, and the new GPT-4-powered Copilot for guided searching. Available across web, mobile, and browser extensions, Perplexity AI grants customizable AI search in multiple environments. While still rapidly evolving, Perplexity AI already provides an impressive suite of capabilities for those seeking detailed, reliable responses. For any information needs, Perplexity AI is worth exploring as a refreshing new AI-powered search option.