How to Use Perplexity AI to Research the Internet with Artificial Intelligence

1. Go to https://perplexity.ai
2. Click Sign up (top right).
3. Choose to sign in with Google, Apple, or your email.
4. Follow the verification steps and your account is ready.

You can start searching without an account (guest mode), but having one lets you save your history and access extra features.

1. On the main screen you’ll see a big search bar. Type your question in natural language, as if you were asking a person. For example: What are the best free AI models in 2026?
2. Press Enter or the send button.
3. Perplexity reads several pages in seconds and gives you a synthesized answer with numbers in brackets, like [1] or [2].
4. On the right (or below on mobile) you’ll see the sources: the sites it pulled information from. Click any bracketed number to see where that data comes from.

Tip: the more specific your question, the better the answer. Instead of “what is AI?” try “how does ChatGPT work in simple terms for someone without technical knowledge?”

Perplexity has several modes you can choose before sending your question:

Mode	What it’s for
Quick	Fast answer for simple questions.
Pro (advanced search)	Searches more sources, reasons more deeply, ideal for research. The free plan gives a few per day; Pro plan makes them unlimited.
Research	Does a deep investigation: runs multiple searches, compares sources, and generates a long report. Takes a few minutes.
Reasoning	For questions requiring analysis, steps, or logic (math, code, arguments).

For studying and research, start with Pro or Research for more complete answers.

Spaces are research folders where you can save searches on the same topic, add your own documents (with the Pro plan), and have Perplexity take them into account in each answer.

1. In the left menu find Spaces and click Create a Space.
2. Give it a name (e.g., “Thesis on climate change”) and an optional description.
3. Now all searches inside that Space share context: you can ask about documents you uploaded, compare information, and keep your research thread organized.

Useful for: long research projects, exam prep, work projects with several related topics.

Install the Perplexity extension for Chrome or Firefox and search directly from any page:

1. Go to your browser’s extension store and search Perplexity AI.
2. Install it and pin the icon to your toolbar.
3. Now when you select text on any web page, an option appears to ask Perplexity about that text.

You can also use the mobile app (iOS and Android) to search from your phone by voice or text.

To get more out of it when you need reliable information:

• Always verify sources. Click the numbered brackets and read the original article. Perplexity can make mistakes when synthesizing.
• Use Research mode for complex topics: it generates multi-page reports with many sources.
• Ask for more detail if the answer is short: “Explain point 2 in more detail” or “Can you cite scientific studies on this?”
• Filter by date: write “in the last 6 months” or use the date filter for recent news.
• For finding academic papers, we also recommend the tutorial How to Search for Scientific Articles with AI, which covers specialized tools.
• For organizing what you find, check out How to Create Your Second Brain with NotebookLM.

Problem	Fix
The answer has no sources	Switch to Pro or Research mode so it actively searches the web
Sources don’t load when clicked	Open the link in a new tab or try in incognito mode
I hit the Pro search limit	Wait until the next day (the limit resets) or upgrade to the Pro plan
Answers are in English even though I ask in Spanish	Make sure to write the full question in Spanish; you can also add “respond in Spanish” at the end
The information seems outdated	Use the date filter or add the year to your question, e.g., “in 2026”