What is Perplexity?

Many of us have heard of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and may even had a go at using one of the many free AI tools available today. These tools often run on large language models (LLMs), advanced systems trained to understand and generate human-like text. But as more of us use AI, the question of quality within the results provided becomes more important. Indeed, not all AI search engines are equal.

While tools like ChatGPT have brought AI into the mainstream for creative text generation and conversational tasks, AI search engines like Perplexity offer a distinct advantage for focused information retrieval. They are specifically designed to quickly find real-time information, summarise, and cite information from the web, making them powerful research and knowledge discovery tools.

Perplexity is an advanced AI-powered search engine and answer tool that provides users with real-time, cited answers to queries by synthesising information from across the web. Launched in December 2022, it combines the capabilities of LLMs with live internet data to deliver concise, conversational responses that are always backed by verifiable sources. Unlike traditional search engines that return a list of links, Perplexity creates comprehensive, single answers to questions while ensuring users can verify all information through the provided citations.

Perplexity's chat-style search engine gives you clear, to-the-point answers pulled from across the web. Instead of dumping a bunch of links, it gets straight to the point with helpful, sourced responses that often explain complex stuff in a way that’s easy to understand. You can ask follow-up questions too - it remembers what you’ve asked before, so conversations flow naturally. That’s especially handy when you’re working on a bigger project and need to keep track of things.

Where Perplexity really stands out is in how flexible it is. It’s likened to a “Swiss army knife for information discovery and curiosity,” and it lives up to that. Whether you’re looking for a quick recipe, checking specs on a new laptop, or trying to find out which streaming service a show is on, it breaks things down into answers that feel useful, not generic.

The experience is clean and ad-free, and it works the way you want - whether you’re using it casually or for more serious research. It pulls in real-time data, adapts to different needs, and even helps with automation and big-picture insights. As it keeps learning and improving, Perplexity becomes more than just a search tool - it’s a genuinely helpful sidekick for everyday questions and complex tasks alike.

The free version of Perplexity gives you fast, reliable answers with a list of the sources that’s pulled from the web which can be located up the top of the search bar, but a Pro account will delve deeper into your question by unlocking simple prompt engineering tools that let you refine your instructions for sharper, more tailored answers. It considers your preferences (adjusted through the settings) and pulls from a much wider range of sources, simplifying and condensing the answer best reflecting the question.

Along with this are some of the following features:

Pro users will get unlimited Pro searches, a considerable increase from the free version that’s capped at only three Pro searches per day.

Have spreadsheets, PDFs and images quickly uploaded and analysed to gain insights and summaries straight away.

Top models from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Perplexity, and more are available to be used to personalise the answers with advanced reasoning, large language model processing as well as a more comprehensive experience.

Pro allows you to easily create images of anything you can imagine.

Pro will draw upon academic databases when trying to verify more researched questions, creating informed business decisions when prompted to do so – a more reliable source of information.

Priority support is provided to Pro users when seeking help, with dedicated Discord and Intercom channels with a quick turnaround time (1-2 business days) through Perplexity Learn more here.

The possibilities are potentially endless, so let’s look at some examples to show how asking Perplexity can help with everyday life situations with these simple prompts. Every example starts with a question or instruction you give the AI, this is called a prompt meaning. If you’re unclear on what this is, just think of it as the action you want Perplexity to do. Writing prompts can be easy - try these ideas:

Cooking

• How would I make vegan lasagna?
• What’s a good substitute for egg?
• How do you make chicken burritos from scratch?
• (upload an image of a list of ingredients) What could I make with these ingredients?

Family

• What’s the best age to send kids to school?
• Explain this topic to a 10-year-old [topic]
• Suggest a family meal plan for a week using these ingredients [list ingredients]
• Create a list of activities for a staycation during the school holidays

Students

• Summarise the main points of this research article
• Create a study schedule for the next two weeks, including [specific subjects]
• Create flashcards on the following topics [list topics]

Travel

• What’s a popular destination to travel to in 2025?
• How many vegan stores or shops are in Paris?
• What’s the most efficient way to get from England to Germany?
• What are some sights to see in Denmark?
• Where can I get the best ramen in Tokyo?

Sport

• How many 3 pointers have been scored in a game of basketball?
• Who’s Australia’s most decorated cricket player?
• What are the best football boots to buy?
• Who’s currently at the top of the ladder in AFL?
• Can you simplify the offside rule in soccer for me?

Small Business

• How can AI save me time and make my business more productive?
• What’s the best accounting software right now?
• What plans do Optus give business owners?
• Which antivirus protection can cover multiple accounts?

Everyday users are at the heart of Perplexity’s growing popularity. Whether you’re planning a holiday, looking for tonight’s dinner recipe, comparing gadgets, or just curious about something new, Perplexity offers quick, clear answers without the usual search engine overload.

It’s not just for small business owners or academics, though they’re using it too. Students, professionals, and casual users alike are discovering how helpful it is. With Perplexity’s ‘Spaces’ feature, you can keep a running conversation, save your research, and even invite others to contribute. It’s perfect for everything from group projects to simple everyday tasks. Perplexity is designed to make information more accessible, no matter who you are or what you’re looking for.

Perplexity is a forward-thinking search engine that caters for all users from all walks of life, giving quite an extensive scope to their reach. The free version is fantastically easy to use, gives you the sources it pulls from to verify and allows for a thread to be created when asking follow-up questions.

But the real ingenuity is found within a Pro account, adding weight and validity to their research by pulling from academic and business databases to bring you a complete, comprehensively sourced answer that will allow for not only a chain of thought to be maintained but projects and files to be stored, used and drawn upon within Perplexity’s ‘Spaces’ - a wonderful way to keep track of research gathered, questions asked and queries answered, all in one place.

Exclusive to eligible Optus customers*.

To say thank you for being with Optus, we’ve partnered with Perplexity – an AI-powered search engine to give eligible mobile customers 12 months free of Perplexity Pro (RRP $300).

Perplexity helps you get answers to any question, big or small and with Perplexity Pro you get access to the latest AI models, image generation and more.

We believe everyone deserves unlimited access to the best AI tools, empowering you to explore, create and achieve more than ever before.

* Perplexity Pro 12 months free Offer T&Cs - New Services (Customers activating from June 2)

Free 12 months Offer available to Optus customers signing up to an eligible mobile plan (new services, excludes recontracts & rate plan changes) between 02/06/25 – 13/01/26, via an eligible Optus sales channel and who have opted into marketing communications. Offer eligibility depends on successful connection of the new service. Available for new Perplexity Pro AI customers only, existing or expired Perplexity Pro AI customers are not eligible. Rate plan changes are excluded. 1 Promo code per activated service.  A promo code will be sent to eligible customers from Optus with 45 days. Customers must redeem the promo code offer at https://www.perplexity.ai/join/p/redeem. Promo codes may not be duplicated, sold or transferred. Perplexity T&Cs apply to use of Perplexity Pro AI.  Offer Promo Code must be redeemed prior to 11:59 PM AEST 28/02/26.