Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered conversational search and research platform that combines large language models with real-time web access to deliver direct, source-cited answers. Founded in 2022, the platform has grown to 45 million monthly active users, $450 million ARR (March 2026), and a reported $20-21 billion valuation. Unlike traditional search that returns links, Perplexity synthesizes information across sources, cites every claim inline, and reasons across multiple retrieval steps for deeper queries. The platform now includes Perplexity Computer, an autonomous web and task agent available on all paid plans since Q2 2026. It also offers Personal Computer (autonomous local agent for Mac), Comet (AI-native browser for iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac), and Deep Research (generates PowerPoints, spreadsheets, dashboards, and websites from research prompts). Integration depth expanded significantly in Q2 2026. Computer now operates inside Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook (launched May 28, 2026), enabling autonomous document creation, data analysis, and email management. Computer in Microsoft Teams (launched May 4, 2026) extends autonomous research and synthesis into team workspaces. The Sonar API and Agent API provide developer access at usage-based pricing ($1/$1 per million tokens for Sonar, $3/$15 per million for Sonar Pro). Finance Search in the Agent API (launched May 6, 2026) adds analyst ratings, SEC filing access, and real-time stock data for programmatic finance research. Personal Computer for Mac (available to all users from May 7, 2026) connects to local files and applications for autonomous task completion beyond the browser. Bumblebee, Perplexity's agent infrastructure, was open-sourced May 22, 2026. Pricing is publicly published across all tiers. Free at $0 includes basic AI search. Pro costs $17/month billed annually or $20/month on monthly billing. Pro includes Computer agent access, advanced AI models (Gemini 3.1 Pro, Sonar 2, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and more), deeper sourcing from Perplexity's proprietary index including PitchBook and Wiley, and report and document generation. Max costs $167/month billed annually or $200/month monthly. Max adds the most advanced reasoning models, unlimited deep research at scale, multi-model comparison, and priority access to new features. Education Pro at $9/month (billed annually, verified students and educators) is 50% off Pro. Enterprise Pro at $34/seat/month adds SSO, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance, guaranteed no training on customer data, and dedicated enterprise support. Enterprise Max at $271/seat/month adds the most advanced reasoning models, unlimited research scale, SCIM, audit logs, and data retention settings. Sonar API and Agent API are usage-based for developers. Who Perplexity is not for: users wanting offline AI work, since every query hits the live web. Teams needing the strongest reasoning for non-research tasks should evaluate Claude (from $20/month) or ChatGPT Pro ($200/month), which lead on complex multi-step reasoning, code generation, and creative writing. Organizations sensitive to Comet's browsing-history collection for ad targeting (no in-app opt-out currently offered) should review data policies before adoption. Teams needing standardized corporate deployment may find Microsoft Copilot (from $22/user/month in Microsoft 365) more appropriate. Enterprise Max at $271/seat is approximately equivalent in cost to several full-stack competitors that include broader enterprise features. Current state Q2 2026: Computer expanded from a Max-exclusive feature to all paid plans (Pro and above) in Q2 2026, lowering the entry point for autonomous AI task execution to $17/month annually. Computer now operates inside Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook (May 28, 2026) and Microsoft Teams (May 4, 2026). Personal Computer for Mac was made available to all users May 7, 2026. Bumblebee, Perplexity's agent infrastructure, was open-sourced May 22, 2026. Finance Search in the Agent API launched May 6, 2026. Over 50,000 organizations now trust Perplexity Enterprise. In 2026, Perplexity founded the Secure Intelligence Institute to advance AI security and privacy research. G2 rating stands at 4.4/5 from 309 reviews. Security certifications confirmed: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and HIPAA (Enterprise plans).