Perplexity AI is a conversational search engine that combines large language models with real-time web retrieval to deliver direct, cited answers instead of a list of links. It offers access to multiple frontier models (GPT-5, Claude Opus 4.8, Gemini, Sonar) selectable per query. The Max tier introduced Model Council in February 2026, which dispatches a query to three models simultaneously and synthesizes the results. Used by individuals for research and by enterprises for knowledge access with permission-aware search. Key features: - Real-time web search with inline citations for every answer - Multi-model selection: GPT-5, Claude Opus 4.8, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Sonar, and more - Model Council (Max tier): simultaneous multi-model synthesis - File uploads up to 40 MB (PDFs, images, audio, video) on Pro+ - Sonar developer API for building search-augmented applications - Enterprise SSO, model access controls, and domain-based sign-up restrictions
Free tier available. Pro: $20/month. Max: $200/month. Enterprise Pro: $40/user/month ($400/year). Enterprise Max: $325/user/month. Education Pro: $10/month.