Perplexity AI Tutorial - How to use AI for Research

AI Alfie
15 Apr 202418:27

TLDRIn this tutorial, Alfie Marsh introduces Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine and research platform founded by Aravan Shrines, offering precise answers to complex questions. Launched in August 2022, it quickly gained traction, raising $100 million and reaching a $520 million valuation with investors like Jeff Bezos. By April 2024, it boasted 60 million monthly users. Perplexity AI stands out by combining AI chatbot capabilities with web search to provide ready-made answers, positioning itself as an 'answer engine.' It searches the web, optimizes queries, and aggregates information from various sources to answer questions comprehensively, unlike traditional search engines. The tutorial also covers Perplexity AI's features like Focus Mode for source specificity and Collections for custom research formats, showcasing its potential as a powerful research tool.

Takeaways

  • 😀 Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine and research platform that provides accurate answers to complex questions.
  • 🌟 Founded in August 2022 by Aravan Shrines, who previously worked at OpenAI and DeepMind, Perplexity AI has quickly gained traction.
  • 💹 The company raised $100 million in funding last year and reached a valuation of $520 million, with investors like Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.
  • 📈 As of January 2024, Perplexity AI had 10 million monthly active users, which grew to 60 million by April 2024.
  • 🧠 The platform combines AI chatbot capabilities with web search to provide ready-made answers to questions.
  • 🔍 Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity AI's CEO refers to it as an 'answer engine', focusing on providing answers rather than links.
  • 🔎 The AI optimizes search queries by understanding the question and searching the web for relevant sources, summarizing information across multiple sources.
  • 📚 Perplexity AI can provide real-time information and answers to complex questions by aggregating data from various sources.
  • 🆚 Compared to static language models like Chat GPT, Perplexity AI is not limited by outdated training data and can provide more accurate, up-to-date answers.
  • 📁 The platform offers features like Focus Mode, which allows users to specify the types of sources they want to focus on, and Attach, which enables users to upload PDFs for analysis.
  • 📚 Collections is a feature that allows users to create custom search templates for specific research tasks, automating the process of gathering and formatting research.

Q & A

  • What is Perplexity AI?

    -Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine and research platform that provides accurate answers to complex questions by combining AI chatbot capabilities with web search.

  • Who founded Perplexity AI and when was it founded?

    -Perplexity AI was founded in August 2022 by CEO Aravan Shrines, who was previously at OpenAI and DeepMind.

  • How much funding did Perplexity AI raise in its Series B round?

    -Perplexity AI raised $100 million in its Series B funding round.

  • What notable investors are associated with Perplexity AI?

    -Notable investors in Perplexity AI include Jeff Bezos, Bessemer Ventures, Nvidia, and Databricks.

  • How many monthly active users did Perplexity AI have as of January 2024?

    -As of January 2024, Perplexity AI had 10 million monthly active users.

  • What is the difference between Perplexity AI and traditional search engines like Google?

    -Perplexity AI aims to answer questions directly by aggregating information from multiple sources, while traditional search engines like Google provide links to web pages where the answers can be found.

  • How does Perplexity AI handle questions that require information from multiple sources?

    -Perplexity AI optimizes its search to answer questions by aggregating information from various sources, providing a well-rounded answer that may span across multiple articles.

  • What is the 'Focus Mode' feature in Perplexity AI?

    -The 'Focus Mode' feature in Perplexity AI allows users to specify the types of sources they want to focus on, such as Reddit, to get more targeted search results.

  • How does Perplexity AI handle real-time information and updates?

    -Perplexity AI pulls real-time information from the internet, unlike static AI models like Chat GPT, which are trained on historical data and may not have the latest information.

  • What is the 'Collections' feature in Perplexity AI and how is it used?

    -The 'Collections' feature in Perplexity AI allows users to create custom search templates with specific prompts and formats for recurring research tasks, streamlining the process and ensuring consistent results.

  • What challenges does Perplexity AI pose to traditional search engines like Google?

    -Perplexity AI challenges traditional search engines by providing direct answers with real-world citations and up-to-date information, potentially offering a more efficient research experience than traditional search engines.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Introduction to Perplexity AI

Alfie, also known as Marsh, introduces Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine and research platform designed to provide accurate answers to complex questions. Founded by Aravan Shrines, former employee of OpenAI and DeepMind, Perplexity AI gained significant traction, raising $100 million and achieving a $520 million valuation in its Series B funding. By January 2024, it had 10 million monthly active users, which increased to 60 million by April. The platform combines AI chatbot capabilities with web search to deliver ready-made answers, distinguishing itself as an 'answer engine' rather than a traditional search engine.

05:02

🔍 Comparing Perplexity AI with Traditional Search Engines

The video contrasts Perplexity AI with Google, showing how Perplexity AI can provide a direct answer to a complex question like 'how many jobs will be displaced by AI' by aggregating information from multiple sources, whereas Google offers links to various articles. Perplexity AI's approach to understanding and answering questions by searching the web and optimizing its search is highlighted. The platform also allows users to specify industries of interest for more tailored responses.

10:04

📚 Perplexity AI's Features and Capabilities

Alfie demonstrates Perplexity AI's features, including its ability to focus on specific types of sources, such as Reddit, to answer questions. The platform's capacity to attach and analyze PDFs for research purposes is also showcased. Additionally, the concept of 'collections' is introduced, which allows users to create custom search formats for specific research tasks, automating the process of extracting and presenting information in a desired structure.

15:05

🏆 Perplexity AI's Competitive Edge and Future Outlook

The video concludes with a discussion on Perplexity AI's competitive edge in the market, particularly in comparison to Google and OpenAI's ChatGPT. It raises questions about how these established platforms might respond to the innovative approach of Perplexity AI. The presenter speculates on the future of search engines and AI research tools, emphasizing the need for real-world citations and factual accuracy in providing answers to users' queries.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine and research platform introduced in the video. It is designed to provide accurate answers to complex questions by combining AI chatbot capabilities with web search. The platform is portrayed as an 'answer engine' rather than a traditional search engine, aiming to offer ready-made answers to queries. For instance, when asked about the impact of AI on job displacement, Perplexity AI not only searches the web but also aggregates information from various sources to provide a comprehensive response.

💡AI Chatbot

An AI chatbot is a software application used to conduct an interactive conversation through text or voice. In the context of the video, Perplexity AI integrates chatbot capabilities with web search to enhance the user's query-answering experience. Unlike traditional chatbots, Perplexity AI's chatbot is equipped to search the internet and synthesize information from multiple sources to answer questions, as demonstrated when it provides an answer to the question about AI's impact on jobs.

💡Web Search

Web search refers to the act of using a search engine to find information on the World Wide Web. The video explains that Perplexity AI enhances traditional web search by not just providing links, but also by interpreting and summarizing content from various sources to directly answer user queries. This is in contrast to how search engines like Google provide a list of links, requiring users to visit each to find the answer.

💡Answer Engine

As mentioned in the video, the CEO of Perplexity AI refers to the platform as an 'answer engine'. This term emphasizes the platform's focus on providing direct answers to questions rather than just a list of web links. The 'answer engine' concept is illustrated when Perplexity AI is shown to pull information from various sources to answer a question about job displacement caused by AI, offering a synthesized response rather than just search results.

💡Valuation

Valuation in the video refers to the estimated worth of a company, typically determined by investors during funding rounds. Perplexity AI is said to have achieved a $520 million valuation after its Series B funding, indicating the market's perception of the company's potential value and future growth. This valuation is a significant milestone that reflects the confidence of investors like Jeff Bezos and Nvidia in the platform's capabilities.

💡Monthly Active Users (MAU)

Monthly Active Users (MAU) is a metric used to measure the number of unique visitors who engage with a website or app over a 30-day period. The video highlights that Perplexity AI had 10 million MAU as of January 2024, which grew to 60 million by April, showcasing the platform's rapid adoption and user engagement. This growth is indicative of the platform's popularity and the effectiveness of its AI-driven research capabilities.

💡Language Model

A language model in the video refers to the underlying technology that powers AI chatbots and answer engines like Perplexity AI. These models are trained on large datasets and are capable of understanding and generating human-like text. The video contrasts Perplexity AI's dynamic, search-enabled language model with static models like Chat GPT, which may not have real-time information and can sometimes generate inaccurate responses.

💡Hallucination

In the context of AI, 'hallucination' refers to the generation of incorrect or made-up information by an AI model when it lacks the data to provide an accurate response. The video points out that some AI chatbots, like earlier versions of Chat GPT, may 'hallucinate' and provide false information for recent events that were not included in their training data, unlike Perplexity AI, which updates its information through web searches.

💡Focus Mode

Focus Mode is a feature of Perplexity AI that allows users to specify the type of sources they want to focus on when conducting a search. As illustrated in the video, a user can choose to focus only on sources like Reddit to get a more targeted set of results. This feature enhances the search experience by enabling users to tailor their queries to specific types of content or platforms.

💡Collections

Collections in the video refer to a feature within Perplexity AI that lets users create custom search templates with specific instructions. These collections can be tailored to perform particular research tasks, such as competitive blog analysis, by providing a structured format for the AI to follow when answering queries. This feature is showcased through an example where the AI is programmed to analyze blog posts for keyword inspiration and information gaps, streamlining the research process.

Highlights

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine and research platform founded in August 2022.

It provides accurate answers to complex questions by combining AI chatbot capabilities with web search.

Perplexity AI was founded by Aravan Shrines, previously at OpenAI and DeepMind.

The platform raised $100 million in funding and reached a $520 million valuation in Series B.

Investors include Jeff Bezos, Bespoke Ventures, Nvidia, and Databricks.

By January 2024, Perplexity AI had 10 million monthly active users, growing to 60 million by April.

The platform is referred to as an 'answer engine' by its CEO, distinguishing it from traditional search engines.

Perplexity AI optimizes searches by understanding the question and then searching the web for relevant sources.

It aggregates information from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive answer to the user's question.

The platform can access real-time information, unlike static AI models like Chat GPT.

Perplexity AI can answer complex questions by synthesizing information from multiple articles.

Users can specify the types of sources they want to focus on, such as Reddit, for their searches.

The platform allows users to attach and analyze PDF files for specific information.

Collections feature enables users to create specific search templates for recurring research tasks.

Collections can be tailored to output research in a specific format, streamlining the process for users.

Perplexity AI's ability to provide real-world citations and factual information sets it apart from other AI platforms.

The platform raises questions about the future competitive landscape between Perplexity AI, Google, and OpenAI's Chat GPT.

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