Research & Search

Perplexity: A Search Engine That Actually Gives You Answers

A search engine that uses AI to read websites and give you answers with sources — like having a research assistant.

• Free / $20/mo Pro★★★★★ 5/5

Perplexity: A Search Engine That Actually Gives You Answers

What It Is

Perplexity is what you'd get if Google Search and ChatGPT had a baby. Instead of giving you a list of links to click through, it reads the websites for you and writes you a real answer. And — here's the important part — it shows you where it got the information, with little numbered links you can click to check the original source yourself.

Think of it like having a research assistant. You ask a question, they go read a bunch of articles, and they come back with "Here's what I found, and here's where I read it." You don't have to trust the AI blindly — you can verify everything.

This is the tool to use when you actually need to know something is true, not just something that sounds true.

What Can It Do For Me?

  • Research anything — health questions, product comparisons, "what's the best dishwasher under $500?"
  • Fact-check things — check claims you've seen online or in the news
  • Get current information — it searches the live web, so answers are up to date
  • Plan purchases — "What are the pros and cons of this vs. that?"
  • Understand topics — get explanations with links to learn more
  • Ask follow-up questions — it remembers your conversation and digs deeper

Pricing

Free: Honestly, this is all most people need. Unlimited searches, answers with sources. No paywall for everyday use.

Pro ($20/month): Deeper research mode that does more thorough multi-step searching, lets you upload files to ask questions about, and gives you access to more powerful AI models behind the scenes.

Start with the free version. Most people never need to upgrade.

The Good and The Bad

Pros:

  • Shows you where every piece of information came from — you can verify it yourself
  • Searches the live web, so information is current, not months old
  • Free version is genuinely useful with no paywall
  • Saves you from clicking through 10 Google results to find your answer
  • Great for comparing products, researching purchases, and understanding topics
  • Clean and simple — no clutter, no ads mixed in

Cons:

  • It's a research tool, not a general assistant — not great for writing or brainstorming
  • Deeper research mode can take 30-60 seconds to answer (it's doing real work)
  • Sometimes it picks mediocre sources when better ones are out there
  • Not as good for creative tasks as ChatGPT or Claude
  • Each search is standalone — it doesn't remember your past conversations

Should You Try It?

If you're tired of Googling something and clicking through five websites to find an answer, Perplexity is for you. It does what Google used to do — give you an answer, not just a list of links. And because it shows its sources, you can actually trust the answers more than what you'd get from ChatGPT.

Use the free version for everyday questions — product research, health questions, understanding news, comparing options. It's free and it's genuinely better than regular Google search for most questions.

You don't need to replace ChatGPT with this. They do different things. ChatGPT is for creating things — writing, brainstorming, planning. Perplexity is for finding things out. Having both in your bookmarks makes a lot of sense. Use Perplexity when you need to know something. Use ChatGPT when you need to make something.

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