Perplexity AI is a real-time, conversational search enginethat can help users with timely answers and the latest information on nearly any topic. It has a free tier and a paid tier, and though its capabilities grow with a paid plan, the free tier is still immensely powerful. The LLM (language learning model) is intended to be conversational, but not at the expense of accuracy. Perplexity AI provides high-quality search results, but like any platform, it isn't perfect.

Whether you're using Perplexity AI to write an email you've been putting off, do some research for a school paper, or just as a way to find something different for dinner, there are tips and tricks you can use to improve your results. Perplexity is especially focused on fact-checking, research uses, and summarizing documents. Use it to get the gist of a lengthy news report without scanning the entire thing, but remember to perform independent fact-checking outside Perplexity itself.

8 Use the focus button

Narrow your focus

One of Perplexity AI's most powerful tools is the Focus button, located in its search bar on the bottom left side. Clicking this button allows you to choose between Web, Academic, Math, Writing, Video, and Social to better narrow your search results and provide better guidance for the language model. You can see the mode you currently have selected at a glance. If you've chosen Web, it will simply show Focus, but any of the other settings will show their respective name.

7 Stay organized with Spaces

Stop wasting time hunting down previous searches

Perplexity AI is a wide-reaching tool that you might use for various applications, and the Spaces feature lets you create an area for each subject. For example, you might have a Space for a school project and another for recipe ideas. Spaces allow multiple people to collaborate on projects and keep all searches related to that subject in one place. If you sign up for Perplexity Pro or Enterprise Pro, you can also upload files to Spaces. Here's how to create one.

1. On the left side of the interface, select Spaces. The icon looks like four bent lines with a dot in the center.
2. Click Create a Space.
3. Fill in the Title, Description, and select an Emoji to represent the space if you want. Paid members can choose to switch the AI Model, too. However, the most important part of this step is entering custom instructions for how Perplexity will respond to every query asked within the space.
4. Click Continue.

Spaces are a great way to make your Perplexity interface a little neater. Once created, you can tweak the instructions on the right side, view sources for all threads within the chat, and much more. You can also invite people to join your Space by clicking the Invite button at the top of the screen.

6 Use advanced search modifiers

Limit your results

While you can tell Perplexity to search within a specific time frame, there are a few shortcuts you should know. Perplexity allows users to modify search results by typing site:, before:, after:, and filetype:. In many ways, the functionality is similar to performing advanced Google searches.

5 Ask follow-up questions

It pays to chat

One of the benefits of using a language learning model like Perplexity is that you can practically have a conversation with it. If the initial results you receive aren't quite what you're looking for, you can request the AI to approach the subject from a different angle or focus more heavily on a given aspect of the query. For example, you might ask for dessert suggestions and then follow up with a question specifically about desserts that can be made quickly or perhaps recipes that don't require baking.

Sure, you could do this kind of search manually on Google, but it would take much longer. Perplexity can save you time on mundane tasks and makes it easier to sniff out the information you're looking for (and, in the context of recipes, means you don't have to wade through a novella to find out how long to bake cookies.) Over time, Perplexity will come to know your preferences based on your interactions with it.

4 Attach files

Scan large amounts of information quickly

One of Perplexity's most beneficial tools is its ability to summarize documents quickly. Uploading a text or PDF fileallows Perplexity to view its contents, and it can then summarize the information and pull out the relevant details. You can also attach images, but you have to be a paid user to do so. Perplexity supports multiple file types, including Excel, Word, PDF, CSV, plain text, PowerPoint files, and various image codecs.

File uploads are limited to 25MB each. You could upload an essay for proofreading or ask Perplexity to tell you the key insights from a research paper. If a particularly difficult equation has you down, scanning a picture can yield an explanation of how to solve the problem — perhaps in an easier way than before.

Programmers can upload code snippets to Perplexity for analysis and feedback, which can also help debug code. When you've been staring at a seemingly perfect code for half an hour and can't seem to figure out the problem, let a set of fresh eyes work on it.

Remember to switch to the right Focus mode when uploading documents or equations.

3 Fact check

Trust but verify

While Perplexity AI is relatively accurate, its information is pulled in real-time from the Internet. When you're seeking information that has to be accurate, make sure you double-check the answers Perplexity gives you. Here's how.

1. At the bottom-right of the answer, click on the series of three dots.
2. Click View Sources.

The sources will appear in a sidebar to the right of the answer. Click any one of these to follow it to the page and evaluate whether it's a trustworthy source.

2 Roleplay

Practice makes perfect

Since you can chat with Perplexity like it's a friend sitting across from you, make use of that. You can provide Perplexity a specific role, along with restrictions and a subject to focus on. For example, you could write, "I'm interviewing for a job as a research assistant for a textile lab. Pretend you're the hiring manager and interview me, throwing some unexpected questions in too."

You can flip it, too. Perplexity provides this prompt on its FAQ page: "I'm a product manager and I need you to provide a summary of the latest market trends for electric bikes in the U.S. This will help me understand the current landscape and make informed decisions."

1 Figure out dinner

And make a list, too

One of the most tedious and often difficult parts of life is deciding what to eat, day after day. Now you don't have to. You can tell Perplexity what ingredients you have and ask it to find something you can make with just those things. In a hurry? Ask Perplexity to limit the recipes to things that can be made in under half an hour.

As for figuring out the whole week's meals, ask it to make you a meal plan. And then, for good measure, ask Perplexity to create a shopping list for you. It makes trips to the grocery store significantly easier and saves you a whole lot of hassle. If you're someone with dietary restrictions, this is a phenomenal tool for getting a bit more variety in your meals.

Simplify your life

While it would be nice if AI could do all of your laundry and dishes for you, it's not quite there yet. It can help with the finicky day-to-day decisions, though, and all it takes is learning a few commands and prompts to urge the language model to give the results you want. For example, it suggested lasagna for dinner, but you can tell it you dislike lasagna, and it will know to suggest something different from that point forward. Applied correctly, artificial intelligence applications can greatly simplify the tedious aspects of daily life and leave you with more time to do the things you want to do.