Artificial intelligence-powered chatbot Perplexity has expanded its Pro Search tool for research as it seeks to differentiate itself from ChatGPT and other competitors in an increasingly competitive space.
The upgrade makes the 'conversational search engine' better at math and programming, as well as better at handling multi-step reasoning. It also sees the integration of the Wolfram|Alpha engine, opening up new research opportunities.
Perplexity AI offers users two distinct search options. QuickSearch is, as the name suggests, designed for speed and accuracy based on cited sources. Pro Search is intended for more thorough, in-depth research, such as hiring an expert research assistant to search for data and explain it to you.
“Research shapes our daily lives. We use it to make informed decisions and solve problems—to innovate, learn and grow. But it can be a time-consuming process, involving hours of information. requires collection and analysis,” Perplexity explained in a blog post. “ProSearch has been our answer to this challenge, revolutionizing knowledge discovery by making research faster and more efficient than ever before. Now, we're taking it to the next level.”
Upgraded Pro Search now provides even more search results. When toggled in the search bar, Perplexity will explore in-depth and link to a wide range of sources, showing its step-by-step process. Pro Search is accessible to all users, with a limit of five free uses every four hours. Perplexity AI also has a Pro subscription with much more access to Pro Search.
Trouble as a central pillar in the upgraded chatbot points to new advanced multi-step reasoning. AI now understands when a question requires a multi-dimensional approach and works through step-by-step goals. Search AI doesn't just return results. It also analyzes them and takes action based on its determination.
So, for example, it can perform follow-up searches based on earlier results to make what the user sees as comprehensive and accurate as possible.
Confusion positive
On the math and programming front, the Perplexity AI embedded in the Wolfram|Alpha engine gives AI the ability to solve complex math questions very quickly and accurately. This is obviously useful not only for solving an equation but also for data analysis, whether in engineering, banking, or customer service.
Perplexity touts the new version of Pro Search as offering benefits in a variety of professions. The company suggests that lawyers can use the tool to identify case laws, marketers can summarize trend analyses, and developers can debug code.
“We've improved ProSearch to handle more complex queries, perform more advanced math and programming computations, and provide even more researched answers,” Perplexity wrote. “Whatever your profession, ProSearch empowers you to make more informed decisions.”
You can check out Perplexity and try the limited Pro Search here. Then, if you want, you can sign up for Perplexity Pro here and get more access to the Pro Search mode.