Perplexity describes itself as an AI-powered search engine that gives conversational answers backed by verifiable sources.

Which models does it use?

Perplexity says it integrates models including OpenAI’s GPT models and Anthropic’s Claude, and lets you choose.

How current are the answers?

Perplexity says content is sourced from the web in real time as you ask.

Can I trust the citations?

Open them. A citation shows where an answer came from, not that the answer reads it correctly.

Perplexity: what it does and how to learn it

Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine. Its own help center says you ask a question and it searches the web to give conversational answers backed by sources, with citations on each response.

Open Perplexity ↗Watch and learn Common questions

What Perplexity does

Searches the web as you ask and gives a synthesised, conversational answer with citations.
Offers regular Search, Pro Search, Deep Research, and creating files and apps.
Lets you choose between models, including OpenAI’s GPT models and Anthropic’s Claude.
Connects to your apps through Connectors, and runs recurring work through Automations, as its Academy videos show.

What people use it for

Research a question
Ask, then open the cited sources and read the ones that matter.
Go deeper
Use Deep Research on a topic that needs more than one answer.
Repeat a briefing
Set up an automation for a daily briefing, as Perplexity’s Academy video shows.

Who it suits

Anyone researching a topic who wants answers with sources to check.
Teams that want to connect research to their own apps.

Plans and access

Perplexity’s help center mentions a Pro subscription for advanced models and search capabilities. Plans and limits change, so read Perplexity’s current terms. Citations make checking easy, but open them: an answer can still misread its source.

How to start

1Read what Perplexity is and how it works. Open
2Ask a question you know the answer to and open the citations.
3Try Deep Research on a topic you need to understand properly.
4Keep the source links with anything you reuse.

Watch and learn

Videos from Perplexity’s own channel, so you can learn it here. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. More on the Perplexity channel.

Perplexity · 2026
What Is Perplexity Computer? | Perplexity Academy
Open on YouTube
Perplexity · 2026
How to use Connectors | Perplexity Academy
Open on YouTube
Perplexity · 2026
How to use Automations | Perplexity Academy
Open on YouTube

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Common questions about Perplexity

What is Perplexity?: Perplexity describes itself as an AI-powered search engine that gives conversational answers backed by verifiable sources.
Which models does it use?: Perplexity says it integrates models including OpenAI’s GPT models and Anthropic’s Claude, and lets you choose.
How current are the answers?: Perplexity says content is sourced from the web in real time as you ask.
Can I trust the citations?: Open them. A citation shows where an answer came from, not that the answer reads it correctly.

Where this comes from

Written from the maker’s own pages, read on 2026-10-13. Plans, limits and features change, so the page you land on is the source.

Each tool links to its maker’s own page. They are listed so you know what exists and what to learn, not ranked, and they are not endorsements. We are not affiliated with these companies. A tool can change or be renamed; the page you land on is the source.