Perplexity AI unveiled its Deep Research feature today, offering users free access to AI-powered research capabilities that can analyze hundreds of sources and generate comprehensive reports in under three minutes.
Why it matters: The launch changes access to advanced AI research tools by making them freely available, while competitors like OpenAI and Google restrict similar features to paid subscribers.
Technical Capabilities: Deep Research introduces several breakthrough features that transform how users can conduct research:
- Autonomous multi-source analysis
- Comprehensive report generation
- Real-time web information synthesis
Market Impact: Perplexity’s approach to democratizing AI research tools reflects broader strategic goals:
- Free tier offers 5 queries per day
- Pro subscription provides 500 daily queries at $20/month
- Planned expansion to iOS, Android, and Mac
The company’s decision to offer free access comes amid growing competition in the AI sector. Deep Research has demonstrated strong performance on industry benchmarks, scoring 21.1% on Humanity’s Last Exam, outperforming models like Google’s Gemini Thinking and Grok-2.
“We believe everyone should have access to powerful research tools,” says Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity CEO. “That’s why we’re making Deep Research free for all.”
The launch follows Perplexity’s recent $500 million funding round that valued the company at $9 billion. However, the company faces legal challenges, with News Corp subsidiaries filing lawsuits over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted content.
In response, Perplexity has initiated revenue-sharing agreements with publishers like Time and Fortune, aiming to fairly compensate content creators while maintaining its commitment to accessible AI tools.
The tool excels at expert-level tasks across various domains, including finance, marketing, and product research. Users can export findings as PDFs or share them through Perplexity Pages, facilitating collaboration and documentation.
Looking ahead, Perplexity plans to expand Deep Research to mobile platforms while continuing to refine its capabilities. The company’s focus on speed and accessibility positions it uniquely in the growing market for AI research tools.
