Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI answer engine made by Perplexity AI, Inc., a US company founded in August 2022. You type a question and, rather than returning a page of links, it searches the web, reads the results and writes a direct answer with numbered citations, so you can open the original source behind each statement.

It sits between a search engine and a chat assistant. It is used for quick factual questions, for comparing products and companies, and for longer research where the sources matter as much as the answer. Perplexity also makes its own browser, Comet, and sells its search and answer technology to developers through an API.

Key features

• Cited answers. Every answer includes inline citations, and paid plans add premium sources such as PitchBook and Statista.
• Choice of models. Pro and higher plans can select models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI and other providers, or let Perplexity pick one for each task.
• Deep research. Runs a longer investigation across many sources and returns an organised report.
• Computer. An agent that builds documents, apps and other assets from a request, metered in monthly credits on paid plans.
• Connectors and files. Connect apps such as Slack, Notion, Google Drive and Linear, and upload files to ask questions about them.
• Comet. Perplexity's web browser for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, with an assistant that can summarise pages, draft emails and carry out tasks while you browse.
• Developer APIs. The Agent API returns web-grounded answers with citations, the Search API returns ranked web results, and an Embeddings API supports semantic search.

Who it is for

Students, writers and anyone who needs answers they can verify can start on the free plan. Founders, analysts and marketers who research markets and competitors are the natural audience for Pro, and Max is aimed at heavy users of Computer and deep research. Organisations that need SSO, permissions and a guarantee that their data is not used for training choose Enterprise, and developers building search into their own products use the API.

Pricing at a glance

Free costs $0 and offers search with citations, basic models and limited daily use. Pro is $17 per month billed annually and adds deep research, top models with model selection, expanded Computer access and higher limits. Max is $167 per month billed annually, with 10,000 monthly Computer credits and the highest limits. Enterprise Pro is $34 per seat per month billed annually and Enterprise Max is $271 per seat per month billed annually; custom pricing adds further security and governance features. API usage is billed per request or per token. Prices as checked on 10 October 2026; confirm on the vendor's pricing page.

Things to consider

• Citations make answers easier to check but do not guarantee them; open the sources for anything important.
• On Free, Pro and Max, AI data retention is on by default, which allows your searches to be used to improve Perplexity's models; you can switch it off in account settings. Enterprise plans state that your data is not used for training.
• Computer and some research features are metered in credits, so heavy use can run into plan limits.
• Several news publishers, including Dow Jones and three Japanese newspapers, have taken legal action against Perplexity over its use of their content.
• Published prices are for annual billing; check the checkout page for monthly billing.

Getting started

1. Open perplexity.ai and ask a question you would normally search for, then check the cited sources.
2. Review the AI data retention setting in your account preferences.
3. Install the desktop or mobile app, or try the Comet browser, if you want Perplexity outside a browser tab.
4. Compare plans on the pricing page, and use the API documentation to add Perplexity search to your own product.