Perplexity AI has launched a free Deep Research tool capable of autonomously conducting extensive searches and generating detailed reports in under three minutes. This positions Perplexity as a strong competitor to ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, offering a faster, cost-effective alternative for expert-level research across various domains while achieving high scores on industry benchmarks.
Perplexity Introduces AI Deep Research – Key Points
- Launch of Deep Research Tool:
- Perplexity AI unveiled its Deep Research tool, designed to automate multi-source searches, analyze extensive datasets, and generate comprehensive reports efficiently.
- The tool autonomously performs dozens of searches, reads hundreds of sources, and synthesizes information to deliver expert-level insights.
- Competitive Positioning:
- The tool places Perplexity in direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Deep Research and Google’s Gemini, both of which lock similar features behind paywalls (20/month for Gemini and 20/month for ChatGPT).
- Perplexity’s Deep Research scores 21.1% accuracy on Humanity’s Last Exam, surpassing Gemini Thinking, o3-Mini, o1, and DeepSeek-R1.
- Achieves 93.9% accuracy on the SimpleQA benchmark, far exceeding other leading AI models in factual consistency.
- Speed and Cost Advantages:
- Perplexity claims its tool is “an order of magnitude faster and cheaper” than OpenAI’s offering.
- It completes most tasks in 2-4 minutes, compared to ChatGPT’s tool, which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours.
- Further optimizations are underway to enhance processing speed.
- Accessibility and Pricing:
- The tool is free for all users with a limited number of daily queries.
- Pro users get unlimited Research queries for $20 per month, surpassing ChatGPT Deep Research’s cap of 100 queries for Pro users.
- Functionality:
- The AI agent iteratively searches, evaluates sources, and refines research strategies, mimicking human-like research methodologies.
- Capable of conducting research and analysis across finance, marketing, technology, current affairs, health, biographies, travel, and product research.
- Export and Sharing Options:
- Reports can be exported as PDFs, documents, or converted into Perplexity Pages for seamless sharing.
- Expansion to Multiple Platforms:
- Available now on Perplexity’s website.
- Rolling out soon to iOS, Android, and Mac apps (users are advised to update their apps to access the feature).
- Ease of Use:
- Users can activate the feature by selecting it in the mode picker below the search box on Perplexity.ai.
Why This Matters: By providing an accessible, efficient, and high-performing research tool, Perplexity AI is democratizing expert-level analysis. With superior speed, factual accuracy, and unprecedented free-tier access (contrasted with competitors’ 20–200/month paywalls), Perplexity’s Deep Research disrupts the AI-powered research market. Its cost-effectiveness and ease of use position it as a critical resource for industries ranging from academia to enterprise, challenging the dominance of established players like OpenAI and Google.
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