As a professional in marketing or sales, you are probably overwhelmed by the vast array of AI tools available. Every week there seems to be a new tool that promises to make your job easier. You feel the pressure to keep up with the latest technologies, but you barely have time to delve into all these tools. You're probably already familiar with ChatGPT, but do you know what Perplexity has to offer? More importantly, is it worth investing time in it in addition to all the other tools you already use?

I have been using Perplexity since its launch in the Netherlands, when there was no paid version. In that time I have used the tool intensively for various purposes: from desk research for my articles to daily informative searches as an alternative to Google. By now, I am a seasoned Perplexity Pro user and can easily compare how this tool differs from other AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude.

In this article you'll discover exactly what Perplexity is, how it compares to other AI tools, and for what tasks it really adds value to your work. I compare the free and paid versions so you can decide if a Pro subscription is worth the investment for you. After reading this article, you'll know exactly when to use Perplexity instead of Google or ChatGPT, how reliable the information is, and how to get started quickly with this versatile tool

Perplexity is best described as an AI-driven answering machine.

Perplexity is best described as an AI-driven answer engine that challenges traditional search engines like Google. Unlike Google, which gives you a list of links from which you have to extract the relevant information yourself, Perplexity gives you a direct answer to your question, complete with source citations so you can verify the information.

The company positions itself as your personal "research partner" and offers a refreshing approach to searching for information. You can use Perplexity through the perplexity.ai website, but there are also handy apps for iOS and Android and a Chrome extension available.

Perplexity's popularity is growing rapidly because it combines the benefits of AI chatbots with the information-centricity of search engines. It makes researching more efficient because you don't have to navigate between different search results - you get the answer you're looking for right away.

Tip: The Chrome extension AI Companion lets you search directly from your browser. Besides searching the entire Internet, you can also search a specific domain (for example, Buzzlytics' website) or a specific page.

The main difference between Perplexity and tools like ChatGPT is the purpose for which they are designed. Whereas ChatGPT excels at creative tasks and text generation, Perplexity is primarily focused on finding and presenting factual information.

One of Perplexity's strongest points is that each answer is provided with links to the original sources. This is an important difference from ChatGPT, which typically does not provide references to where it gets its information. This transparency makes it easier to check the reliability of the information given.

Perplexity pulls its data directly from the Internet the moment you ask a question. This means that the information you get is up-to-date - something ChatGPT, despite recent improvements, still struggles with. Perplexity is therefore much better at answering questions about recent events or information that changes frequently.

One of Perplexity's greatest strengths is that each answer comes with links to the original sources.

A unique feature of Perplexity is the "Focus" option, which allows you to specify the type of sources you want to search in. For example, you can specifically search academic sources for scientific information, videos for visual content, or social media for the latest trends and opinions. This gives you much more control over the type of information you receive.

The four components can be applied in almost any order, although the relevant follow-up step usually works best at the end. Experiment with different sequences to see what works best for your particular article.

Whereas ChatGPT, as a product of OpenAI, obviously uses only OpenAI's models, Perplexity uses multiple LLMs, including GPT-4 and Claude. Pro users can even choose which model to work with. This versatility allows Perplexity to combine several strengths.

Perplexity offers both a free version and a paid Pro version that costs €20 per month (or €200 per year). But what exactly do you get for that money?

The free version of Perplexity is already surprisingly powerful and offers:

• Unlimited search via the default "Auto" mode
• Access to the basic AI model (Sonar).
• Ability to upload PDF files
• Five "enhanced queries" per day (formerly called "Pro Searches").
• Access to the 'Spaces' feature for collaboration, albeit with limitations
• The 'Pages' feature to create web pages from your research

For many users, the free version will be more than enough, especially if you use Perplexity primarily for everyday information searches.

The Pro version offers significantly more features:

• More than 300 enhanced queries per day.
• Access to more advanced AI models, including GPT-4.5 (limited to 10 times per day), GPT-4o, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and Gemini Flash 2.0
• Ability to upload and analyze different file types (PDFs, CSVs and images)
• Extensive functionality in 'Spaces', including the use of reasoning models
• Image generation with choice of different AI image generation models
• Perplexity Shopping to buy products directly from the interface
• $5 monthly API credits for integration into your own projects
• Access to the Pro Discord channel and priority support.

Whether the Pro version is worth the money depends on your specific needs. If you use Perplexity extensively for professional purposes, such as in-depth market research or analyzing many documents, the Pro version may be a good investment. The access to advanced AI models and additional "enhanced queries" allow for deeper analysis and better results.

However, for occasional use or simple information searches, the free version already offers great value. My advice is to start with the free version and switch to Pro only when you find you run into limitations.

Tip: always check the sources listed, especially before important decisions or when you are going to use the information professionally.

As a professional, you naturally want to be able to trust the information you use. Perplexity tries to provide reliable information in a number of ways.

One of the biggest advantages of Perplexity is that each answer is provided with links to the original sources. This allows you to quickly check the reliability of the information. You can click through to the source to see if the information is represented correctly and if the source itself is reliable.

Perplexity claims to use reliable sources, such as news sites, academic papers and well-known blogs. The Focus feature also allows you to specifically search academic sources, which can increase reliability for academic research.

Perplexity uses RAG technology, selecting relevant sources from the Web and using them as input to the language model. This is intended to improve the quality and reliability of the answers.

Despite these mechanisms, Perplexity is not immune to inaccuracies:

• Like other AI tools, Perplexity can "hallucinate" - generate false information that seems convincing but is not true.
• There have been allegations of copyright infringement and ignoring the "Robots Exclusion Protocol. This includes allegedly crawling websites that have not given permission to do so.
• It's not always clear how Perplexity determines which sources are considered most valuable.

To reduce these risks, it is essential to always check the sources listed, especially before important decisions or when you are going to use the information professionally.

Perplexity can be particularly valuable for professionals in marketing and sales. Here are some concrete applications:

Perplexity excels at quickly gathering information on specific topics. For example, you can use it to:

• Perform competitive analysis
• Identify market trends
• Statistics and numbers to find for your content
• Gain insight into what consumers are saying about certain products or services

Personally, I use Perplexity mainly to gain quick insight into a specific topic so I can properly prepare my interviews, but also to find good sources for my own articles. And recently I used it to find a source for a "research shows that..." assertion in an article.

Perplexity's "Discover" feature acts as a personalized news feed with relevant articles. This helps you stay on top of the latest developments in your industry without having to actively search yourself.

The "Collections" feature lets you save and organize searches by project or topic. You can even add specific instructions that apply to the entire collection. This is ideal for long-term projects or recurring research tasks.

'Spaces' allow teams to work together on research and share knowledge. You can easily share collections and results with colleagues, promoting collaboration and avoiding duplication of effort.

Tip: Use Perplexity and ChatGPT or Claude both: Perplexity for information gathering and research and ChatGPT or Claude for creative tasks and content creation.

Each AI tool has its own strengths. It is important to choose the right tool for the right task:

• Information searches where you need reliable, up-to-date information
• Research where sources are important
• Finding specific facts, statistics or developments
• Market research and competitive analysis

• Creative tasks such as writing texts or brainstorming ideas
• Generating content such as blog articles or social media posts
• Developing concepts or campaigns
• Tasks where factual accuracy is less important than creativity

The optimal strategy is to use these tools complementarily: Perplexity for information gathering and research and ChatGPT or Claude for creative tasks and content creation.

Good news: you can learn to use Perplexity quickly thanks to its intuitive interface.

Here are some tips for getting started with Perplexity quickly and effectively:

• Start by asking clear, specific questions
• Use the source references to check reliability
• Experiment with follow-up questions to refine your research
• Try the Focus feature to direct your search to specific source types

• Create collections to organize your searches
• Experiment with different AI models (in the Pro version)
• Use 'Spaces' for team projects and collaboration
• Upload documents to have them analyzed by Perplexity

By exploring these features step by step, you can quickly harness the full power of Perplexity without getting overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

As a marketing and sales professional, you have to deal with a flow of information that is growing faster and faster thanks to AI. Finding relevant, reliable and up-to-date information is therefore more crucial than ever, but traditional search engines often make this process time-consuming and inefficient. Perplexity offers a solution to this problem by providing instant answers to your questions, backed by sources you can verify. That makes this tool a powerful complement to other AI tools.

I use Perplexity daily alongside other AI tools. Not as a replacement but as a complement. Because where ChatGPT and Claude excel in creativity and text generation, Perplexity is the best tool for research. By combining the strengths of different tools, you create a workflow that is both efficient and reliable.

If you've become curious about Perplexity, I recommend you just create a free account. Start with some specific searches within your field and compare the results with what you are used to from Google or other search engines. If you find that you run into the limitations of the free version, you can still consider upgrading to the Pro version. Especially try the Focus feature and the ability to create collections. These features really set Perplexity apart from other tools and can significantly improve the way you work.

Want to learn more about how to use AI tools in your work as a marketing or sales professional? Then check out our AI workshop. Or read our article on NotebookLM, another (free) AI tool we recommend at Buzzlytics.