Perplexity Launches New 'Deep Research' Feature to Rival OpenAI and Google

In the rapidly evolving world of AI, the race to provide the most advanced and capable research tools is heating up. Perplexity, the AI company known for its innovative chatbot, has just announced the launch of its new "Deep Research" feature - a direct competitor to similar offerings from tech giants like OpenAI and Google.

The goal of Deep Research is to provide users with more in-depth, expert-level answers backed by real citations and sources. Unlike a typical consumer chatbot, this new feature is designed for more professional use cases, tackling complex queries across a range of fields including finance, marketing, and product research.

How Does Perplexity's Deep Research Work?

According to Perplexity, the Deep Research tool utilizes an iterative process, "searching, reading documents, and reasoning about what to do next, refining its research plan as it learns more about the subject areas." This approach is said to mimic how a human researcher might tackle a new topic.

The end result is a detailed report that can be exported as a PDF or shared as a Perplexity Page. Perplexity claims its Deep Research tool is faster than the competition, typically completing tasks in under 3 minutes compared to 5-30 minutes for OpenAI's offering.

How Does Perplexity's Deep Research Compare to the Competition?

Perplexity provided an overview of how its Deep Research feature stacks up against similar products from OpenAI and Google:

- Perplexity AI excels in speed and accessibility for casual researchers

- OpenAI dominates in analytical depth for enterprise applications

- Google integrates most seamlessly with existing productivity ecosystems

Importantly, Perplexity's Deep Research is available for free, with non-subscribers getting a limited number of queries per day and paying subscribers receiving unlimited access. This contrasts with OpenAI's Deep Research, which is currently only available to $200/month Pro subscribers.

The Impact on Research and Innovation

While it's still early days, the rise of these AI-powered "deep research" tools could have significant implications for how we approach research and problem-solving. Some experts have raised concerns that over-reliance on these assistants could potentially reduce opportunities for original, creative thinking.

Only time will tell how these tools will be adopted and how they will shape the future of research and innovation. But for now, Perplexity's new Deep Research feature represents a significant step forward in the race to provide the most advanced and accessible AI-powered research capabilities.