Perplexity AI

Perplexity is what search looks like when the answer comes first and the links come with it. Every response is synthesised from live sources and footnoted, so you can check the claim rather than trust it. In 2026 the product's centre of gravity has moved from a search box to Comet, its free AI browser.

What is Perplexity?

Perplexity is an AI answer engine: you ask a question, it searches the live web, reads the results and returns a written answer with inline citations. Comet, its browser, has been free since October 2025 on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, and the free version keeps the headline features intact — agentic search, page summarisation, voice mode, shopping assistance and Deep Research from inside the browser. The paid tiers are about depth and model access rather than unlocking the basics. Pro at $20 opens up 300-plus Pro searches a day across GPT-5.6, Claude Opus 4.8 and Gemini 3.5 Pro, unlimited file uploads, image generation and a browser agent that can take actions across the web for you.

Key Features

• Cited answers: Inline footnotes on every claim, which makes the output usable in work you have to defend.
• Comet AI browser: A full browser with an agent built in — it reads pages, compares options and completes tasks instead of just answering.
• Multi-model access: Pro subscribers choose between the current frontier models rather than being locked to one vendor.
• Deep Research: Long-running research runs that read dozens of sources and return a structured report.
• Model Council (Max): Runs one query simultaneously across several frontier models, with a chair model synthesising the answers.

Who Should Use Perplexity?

Perplexity is the best fit for researchers, analysts, journalists, students and anyone who needs answers they can cite. It is also increasingly a browser decision rather than a subscription decision — Comet is free, so the entry cost is zero. Pro at $20 is the sweet spot for most professional users. Max at $200 is narrow: it exists for people who want autonomous Background Assistants running work unattended and Model Council cross-checking frontier models. Enterprises get MDM deployment, SOC 2 compliance and CrowdStrike integration from $40 per seat.

Pricing

The free tier includes the Comet browser, basic assistant tasks and five Pro searches a day. Pro is $20/month and unlocks the full feature set plus Comet Plus at no extra charge. Max is $200/month, removing limits and adding Background Assistants, Model Council, no Labs monthly query quota, the highest file storage limits, early feature access and priority support. Comet Plus, which adds premium publisher content inside Comet's answers, is $5/month on its own but included with Pro and Max. Enterprise starts at $40 per seat per month.

Pros and Cons

Bottom Line

Perplexity remains the most useful tool in AI for research you have to stand behind, and Comet has turned it from a website into a daily driver. Install the free browser first — it costs nothing and does most of what people pay competitors for. Upgrade to Pro at $20 if you research for a living; skip Max unless unattended background agents are genuinely part of your workflow.