Perplexity

Perplexity does something none of the other major AI tools do by default: it tells you where its information came from. Every answer includes numbered citations. Click any of them and you go directly to the source.

This matters enormously for business research. AI tools that do not show sources can sound authoritative while being wrong. Perplexity does not just give you an answer. It gives you a verifiable answer.

The research use case

Most AI tools are optimised for conversation and writing. Perplexity is optimised for finding things out. The entire interface is built around research workflows: ask a question, get a sourced answer, ask follow-up questions that build on what you have already found.

Unlike most AI, Perplexity searches the web in real time for every query. It does not have a training cutoff the same way other models do. Ask about a competitor's latest pricing, what happened in your industry last week, or what the current market rate is for a service, and it finds actual current information.

What to use it for

Competitor research: What are they charging? What do their reviews say? What services are they promoting? Perplexity will pull together a picture quickly.

Market research: What is happening in your industry? What are the trends? What are customers saying they want?

Supplier comparison: Which payment processor is best for my kind of business? What are the current alternatives to my existing software?

Fact checking: Verify something an AI told you elsewhere. Perplexity is the right tool for "is this actually true?"

The free tier

Perplexity's free tier is genuinely excellent. For most research tasks, you will not need to pay. The Pro plan at £17/month adds access to more powerful underlying models, more detailed research, and the ability to search within specific domains like academic papers or Reddit.

Start with the free version. It is one of the best free tools in the AI space.

How to get set up

1. Go to perplexity.ai — no account needed to start
2. You will see a search box. Type your question in plain English.
3. Try typing: "What are the current rules for employing apprentices in the UK?"
4. Perplexity will give you a clear answer with links to its sources so you can verify the information

Time to get started: Under 1 minute Do you need a credit card? No — free to use, no sign-up required