Perplexity AI review: a data-backed look

Perplexity AI overview

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search assistant that combines large language models with real-time web access to deliver fast, cited answers. It’s built for users who need accurate, up-to-date information without sifting through multiple sources.

Perplexity fits researchers, analysts, and knowledge workers. Unlike traditional chatbots or search engines, it focuses on transparency, speed, and source-based responses rather than open-ended conversation or broad generalisation.

How much do businesses spend on Perplexity AI?

The chart below illustrates average quarterly spending on Perplexity AI across different business sizes.

Small and medium-sized businesses demonstrate the highest spending trajectory on Perplexity, with quarterly expenditure showing exponential growth throughout the measured period.

Mid-market and enterprise companies display strong spending growth with steady increases across all quarters.

Micro businesses show consistent upward spending trends, maintaining lower but steadily growing investment levels.

The data reveals rapid adoption patterns across all business segments, with smaller organizations leading the charge in platform investment.

Who is Perplexity AI best for?

The chart below breaks down Perplexity AI’s user base by industry and business size.

Micro businesses represent the largest portion of Perplexity's user base, making up the dominant segment of platform adoption.

Small and medium-sized companies constitute a significant portion of users, while mid-market and enterprise businesses represent the smallest segment.

Perplexity AI key features

Ai-powered answers

• What it does: Uses large language models like GPT-4 and Claude 4 to generate responses by synthesizing information from multiple sources.
• Key benefit: Provides fast, reliable, and conversational answers that enhance research efficiency.

Real-time web searching and indexing

• What it does: Continuously scans the internet for current data and events to update its knowledge base in real time.
• Key benefit: Ensures accurate and timely outputs for informed decisions.

Document and image analysis

• What it does: Processes uploaded documents (PDFs, Excel, Word) and images to extract and analyze content.
• Key benefit: Saves time on manual review and supports deeper insight from proprietary data.

Text and image generation

• What it does: Generates original written content and images using integrated AI tools like DALL·E.
• Key benefit: Accelerates content production and reduces creative resource costs.

Collections and collaboration

• What it does: Lets users save, organize, and share searches and research threads with others.
• Key benefit: Improves team productivity and supports shared knowledge-building.

Internal knowledge search

• What it does: Lets Pro and Enterprise users search across both the web and their internal documents.
• Key benefit: Combines external and internal sources to give a more complete view for decision-making.

Citation provision

• What it does: Provides clickable citations in all answers, linking back to original sources.
• Key benefit: Supports transparency, fact-checking, and compliance needs.

User-friendly interface with thread continuity

• What it does: Maintains context across multiple follow-up questions for smoother interactions.
• Key benefit: Reduces repeated input and makes complex research sessions easier to manage.

Perplexity AI pricing

Perplexity AI pros & cons

Perplexity AI is a good fit if:

• Your team needs fast answers with sources from the web.
• Your team needs fresh research instead of static model data.
• Your team needs tools for research, journalism, or analysis work.
• Your team needs memory for follow-ups in conversations often.
• Your team needs shared spaces for research and team collaboration.
• Your team needs blended access to internal and public knowledge.

Consider alternatives if:

• Your team needs custom-tuned models for proprietary task workflows.
• Your team needs enterprise-grade APIs or advanced tool integrations.
• Your team needs to build autonomous workflows or AI agents.
• Your team needs large memory for long-document processing tasks.