Perplexity
The AI search engine that replaced Google for expert queries. Answers with source citations, follow-up questions, and focus modes for different purposes.
What I love
- + Answers with citations and links to sources
- + Up-to-date information (searches the web in real time)
- + Focus modes — Academic, Writing, Math, Video
- + Collections for organizing research
- + Great for research and due diligence
What bugs me
- − Pro plan ($20/month) required for advanced models
- − Sometimes cites unreliable sources
- − Can't work with your data (web only)
- − Less useful for creative tasks
Google killer? Almost.
Perplexity changed how I search for information. Instead of "type keywords → scan 10 results → piece it together yourself" it's "ask → get an answer with citations."
How I use it
Research for articles
When I write an article on airepublic.cz, I need up-to-date information — prices, benchmarks, news. Google gives me 10 links. Perplexity gives me an answer with a citation to a specific page.
Example: "What are the current Claude API prices?" → Perplexity gives me a table of prices and a link to Anthropic's pricing page. 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes of googling.
Fact checking
I'm writing a review and Claude tells me something that sounds too good. I drop it into Perplexity: "is it true that...?" → I get an answer with citations. A perfect fact-checking workflow.
Technical research
"How does the MCP protocol work?" → Perplexity finds the spec, blog posts from Anthropic, community articles. The "Academic" focus mode also prioritizes peer-reviewed sources.
Why it's not 5 stars
Citations aren't always reliable
Perplexity occasionally cites SEO spam pages or outdated articles. I always click through to the source and verify. Trust, but verify.
Can't work with your data
Claude reads your file, analyzes your code. Perplexity searches the web. For internal data it's unusable.
It's not a chat
Perplexity is a search engine, not a conversational AI. For brainstorming, writing code, or analyzing documents, Claude is better. Perplexity is for finding information.
Perplexity vs. Google
| | Perplexity | Google | |---|---|---| | Answers | Structured, with citations | 10 blue links | | Speed | One answer, 5 seconds | Browsing results, minutes | | Freshness | Real-time web search | Real-time | | Ads | None | Plenty | | Accuracy | Good, not perfect | Depends on SEO |
Verdict
Perplexity is the best AI search engine. For research, fact-checking, and quickly finding answers it's significantly better than Google. It's not a replacement for Claude (different use case), but a perfect complement. $20/month for Pro is worth it if you search for information often.