AI and Perplexity: Google's Smarter Cousin

Perplexity is an AI search engine that gives you a written answer with footnoted sources. It's faster than Google for research because you don't have to click each link to find the info.

Some examples

• Ask: 'What's the latest on the climate bill in Congress?' — get sourced answer.
• Click any citation to verify the source said what AI claims.
• Use 'Focus' modes (Academic, Reddit, YouTube) to limit where it searches.
• Save your favorite searches as Spaces for ongoing projects.

Try it!

Pick a current event and ask Perplexity. Click two citations and check them. Compare to a Google search of the same topic.

Perplexity Spaces are like project folders for research. Drop in URLs, PDFs, and notes, then ask questions only against that material. Way better than starting from a blank chat each time.

Some examples

• Build a Space for one class — drop syllabus, slides, and your notes.
• Ask questions and Perplexity cites your own materials.
• Share Spaces with study group members.
• Spaces beat the standard chat for any multi-week project.

Try it!

Build a Perplexity Space for one class this week. Add 5 sources. Ask 3 study questions.

Google gives you a list of links you have to read. Perplexity gives you a synthesized answer with the citations linked. For 'what year did X happen?' Perplexity is faster. For 'I want to read 5 sources and form my own opinion' Google is better. Knowing when to use which one is a 2026 search skill.

Some examples

• Perplexity for: quick facts, comparisons ('iPhone 17 vs Pixel 10'), homework starter research.
• Google for: shopping (you want to scan reviews), niche forums, anything visual or local.
• Perplexity Pro: better models, more depth, $20/mo (often free for students via partner deals).
• Both can hallucinate — always click at least one citation before quoting.

Try it!

Take three things you Googled this week. Re-ask each in Perplexity. Note which tool would have saved you time.

Perplexity is great when you want a synthesized answer with citations to several sources. Google is still better for navigating to a specific site, comparing products, or anything local. Use the right tool, not the trendy one.

Some examples

• You use Perplexity to summarize 'what's the latest on X' with cited sources in 30 seconds.
• Google still beats Perplexity for 'McDonald's near me' or 'Amazon Echo deals'.
• Perplexity wins research questions like 'compare React Server Components and Astro Islands'.
• Google's image search beats Perplexity for visual lookups.

Try it!

Run the same five questions in both. Note which tool won which type. Build your own routing rule.