Perplexity has launched its new Deep Research tool, offering users free access to advanced AI-powered research capabilities that rival the paid features of competitors like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The groundbreaking move marks a significant shift in the accessibility of sophisticated AI research tools.
The new Deep Research feature enables users to conduct comprehensive web searches, analyze specific sources, and generate detailed reports based on collected information.
While similar capabilities from Gemini cost $20 monthly and ChatGPT charges $200 monthly, Perplexity provides this service free of charge with limited daily queries.
According to Perplexity, the tool “excels at a range of expert-level tasks, from finance and marketing to product research” and has demonstrated impressive performance on industry benchmarks, particularly on Humanity’s Last Exam, where it ranks second only to OpenAI’s Deep Research.
Users can access Deep Research through a simple dropdown menu next to the text field. The tool offers flexible export options, allowing researchers to save their findings as documents, PDF files, or shareable Perplexity Pages via web links.
The company’s innovative approach extends beyond desktop functionality, with plans to integrate Deep Research into their Android and iOS mobile applications. This expansion will make advanced AI research capabilities more accessible to users across different platforms.
In comparison, OpenAI’s recent announcement reveals that free ChatGPT users will receive just two Deep Research queries monthly, while ChatGPT Plus subscribers ($20/month) get ten queries. This limited availability makes Perplexity’s offering particularly attractive to regular users and researchers.
Performance tests indicate that Perplexity Deep Research outperforms several prominent AI models, including Google’s Gemini with Thinking capabilities, OpenAI’s o3-mini and o1 models, and the DeepSeek-R1 model. The tool has proven especially effective in analyzing scientific papers, government documents, and legal updates.
The introduction of this free research tool represents a significant democratization of AI technology, making advanced research capabilities accessible to a broader audience. This development could potentially reshape how students, professionals, and researchers approach information gathering and analysis in the digital age.
As AI technology continues to evolve, Perplexity’s approach may pressure other industry leaders to reconsider their pricing strategies and accessibility options, potentially leading to more inclusive AI tools across the market.
News Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/perplexity-deep-research-ai-tool-free-query-web-mobile/
