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Perplexity is a next-generation AI search engine developed by AI engineers who came from Google.
Unlike a regular search engine, when you type in a question, the AI searches multiple websites and summarizes the answer for you in natural language.
It's like asking a knowledgeable friend "What is this?" — you can find information through a back-and-forth conversation.
Perplexity's greatest appeal is that every answer always displays the sources (which websites the information came from).
AI chatbots like ChatGPT sometimes give incorrect information, but because Perplexity shows its sources, you can verify the reliability of the information.
It's ideal for research, studying, and work-related investigations.
As of April 2026, Perplexity supports many languages, including Japanese.
The free version requires no registration and you can start using it right away.
Of course, there is also a more feature-rich paid version called Perplexity Pro.
It costs $20 per month (approximately ¥3,000), which nearly eliminates search limits and lets you choose from the latest AI models.
Perplexity has many useful features that make research more efficient. Here are five key features, including the latest ones added in 2026.
When you enter a question, the AI gathers information from multiple websites and generates a response that summarizes the key points.
For example, if you ask "Where are the 2026 Olympics being held?", the AI will give you the answer in a single sentence — no need to read through long news articles.
Below the answer, links to the sources are listed, so if you want to learn more, you can click a link to read the original article.
Deep Research is a feature where the AI thoroughly investigates complex topics and creates a report for you.
With a March 2026 update, Anthropic's latest model "Claude Opus 4.6" was integrated, further improving accuracy.
In a single research session, it visits more than 100 web pages, checks for inconsistencies in the information, and produces a neatly organized, section-by-section report in 2 to 5 minutes.
It's useful for university reports and business market research.
Model Council is a new feature that launched on February 5, 2026.
It lets you ask the same question to three different AI models at the same time and compare each of their answers.
Since different AI models have different areas of expertise, it's convenient to get answers from multiple perspectives.
For example, for a programming question, you can see responses from both a model that excels at coding and a model that's great at explaining things to beginners, then choose the answer that works best for you.
Perplexity Computer is an AI assistant feature that handles complex tasks automatically.
It uses 19 different AI models and selects the optimal one for each problem.
For example, if you ask "Diagnose the SEO of my website," a website audit workflow is automatically executed and delivers a report analyzing SEO, accessibility (ease of use), brand positioning, and more.
Website generation workflows have also been added.
Comet is a dedicated browser app developed by Perplexity.
It officially launched on iOS on March 27, 2026.
It works as a regular web browser, but its defining feature is that you can instantly call up Perplexity's AI functions right on the screen.
While viewing a web page, you can ask "Give me a summary of this page," or ask about an unfamiliar word in the middle of an article.
Features for checking task progress in real time and improved handling of long conversations have also been added.
Even beginners can start using Perplexity easily in just 3 steps. Here's an explanation of the basic usage.
First, go to Perplexity's official website (https://www.perplexity.ai).
The free version requires no registration, so once the search box appears on the top page, you can start using it right away.
If you want to save your search history or use the paid version, you can create an account with a Google account or email address.
The basic features are fully usable even without registering.
In the search box, type what you want to look up in natural language.
For example, questions like "What are the cherry blossom bloom predictions for 2026?", "What's the difference between ChatGPT and Gemini?", or "How do I load an image in Python?" are all fine — just ask as you would in everyday conversation.
If the answer comes back in English, try adding "In English, please." at the end of your question to increase the chance of getting a response in your preferred language.
Press Enter, and the AI will begin searching.
Within a few seconds, the AI's summarized answer will appear.
In the response text, you'll see small numbered links (e.g., [1], [2]).
These are the sources — clicking them takes you to the original website.
If the answer isn't sufficient, you can continue the conversation by entering follow-up questions like "Tell me more" or "Give me some specific examples."
Related question suggestions are also displayed, and clicking them lets you dig deeper into your research.
Perplexity has both convenient aspects and things to be aware of. Before you start using it, let's go over the pros and cons.
Perplexity is perfect for people who want to find information quickly and accurately. Specifically, it's recommended for people like these:
On the other hand, Perplexity is not well suited for people who want to write fiction or creative writing, enjoy casual conversation with AI, or generate images and videos.
For those purposes, ChatGPT or Midjourney would be more appropriate.
This is because Perplexity is a tool that specializes in "researching information."
Perplexity is a next-generation AI-powered search engine that can dramatically improve the efficiency of your research. Here's a summary of the key points in this article, including the latest features as of April 2026.
Perplexity is an exceptionally powerful tool, especially for students who do a lot of research, business professionals who need to stay on top of the latest information, and anyone who wants to verify trustworthy sources.
The basic features are more than sufficient with the free version, so why not start by visiting the official website (https://www.perplexity.ai) and asking about something you're curious about?
Experience a new way to search — one where AI gives you the answers — that's completely different from Google or Bing.
This article is a cross-post from AI Friends.
