What Perplexity does
Perplexity is an AI-native answer engine and search platform that focuses on producing grounded, citable responses to user questions by researching the open web in real time. Through its consumer product surfaces (Search/Answer Engine) and “Computer” workflow product, Perplexity aims to move from one-off answers toward longer, multi-step knowledge work: researching topics, analyzing information, and producing work outputs (e.g., written deliverables or code/executions) with web grounding and citations.
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The company also offers developer-focused access via an API platform and an Agent API, which expose search, URL fetching, code execution, tool integrations, and finance/people search in a programmatic way. Perplexity’s business model is primarily subscription-led for individuals and teams (e.g., free core search with higher capabilities on paid plans), with Enterprise offerings positioned around security, access controls, and compliance. In 2024 it launched “Enterprise Pro” as its first B2B offering, highlighting team controls, security features (including SOC 2 mentioned in the launch post), and business use cases across verticals. In 2026 it broadened the “Computer” workflow ecosystem with features oriented around local-first execution (Portable Computer), new interfaces for starting tasks (Computer in email), agent infrastructure (Agent API presets), and workspace/persistence concepts (Spaces evolving into Projects) plus agent memory (Brain).