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, it has grown to 45 million monthly active users, $450 million ARR (March 2026), and a $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 spans six subscription tiers and a developer API ecosystem. Free includes basic AI search with limited Pro Searches per day. Pro at $20/month adds unlimited Pro Searches, Model Council (Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-4o, Mistral Large, Sonar), Labs limited access, Research mode, image generation, Veo 3.1 video generation, file uploads, and Pro Perks. Max at $200/month unlocks Claude Opus 4.6 and GPT-5.2 access, unlimited Labs, Sora 2 Pro video generation (12 seconds with audio), Comet Max Assistant, and Computer -- Perplexity's independent digital worker that completes multi-step tasks across the web on the user's behalf. Enterprise Pro at $40/seat/month adds team features, SSO, 500 daily Research queries, compliance certifications, and shared workspaces. Enterprise Max at $325/seat/month delivers unrestricted Research/Labs access, audit logs, SCIM, advanced governance (requires 50+ team members or 1+ Enterprise Max user). Sonar API offers developer access at $1/$1 per million tokens (Sonar) or $3/$15 per million (Sonar Pro). Comet browser, launched in 2025 and made free on iOS/Android/Windows/Mac in March 2026, is Perplexity's Chromium-based AI-native browser that hit #3 Overall on the US App Store within 48 hours of iOS public launch -- it embeds the AI assistant on every page for in-page research, summarization, voice mode (GPT Realtime 1.5), Deep Research integration, and multi-step agentic task automation. Deep Research, expanded March 2026, generates structured deliverables directly: PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, dashboards, websites. Finance mode (March 2026) added analyst ratings, SEC filing tap-throughs, real-time stock graphs, and live news synthesis. Native integration on Samsung Galaxy S26. February 2026 marked a pivot to subscription-first with ads removed from answers -- a trust-led repositioning. Best fit: analysts and consultants needing citation-backed market intelligence, researchers conducting systematic literature reviews, finance professionals using Finance mode, technical teams using Sonar API for search-augmented applications, and individuals wanting a free or low-cost web-research assistant. Not appropriate for users wanting offline AI work (every query hits the live web), teams needing the strongest reasoning models for non-research tasks (Claude or ChatGPT lead there), or organizations sensitive to Perplexity's Comet browsing-history collection for ad targeting (no opt-out currently offered). Not affiliated.