Perplexity Answers 250 Million Questions a Month: The AI Search Race Heats Up

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Welcome to Future Blueprint. This is a short and sweet newsletter tracking:

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• Leading AI tools that caught our attention
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Today, we’re looking at how Perplexity is starting to take on Google in search. Interesting to think about this after Google was slapped with the anti-trust monopoly label.

Of course, we’ll also share some of the most interesting AI tools and apps we think you should explore.

Best,

Lex

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AI Search Heats Up: Perplexity Answers 250 Million Questions Monthly

Perplexity, an AI-driven search engine, is gaining momentum, answering a staggering 250 million questions last month alone. This growth underscores a rising demand for AI-enhanced search experiences. Despite this success, Perplexity remains a distant competitor to Google, which handles about 8.5 billion queries daily. With the integration of AI in search poised to transform the industry, Perplexity’s rise signals that users are seeking more precise and contextually relevant answers than traditional keyword-based searches offer.

Although Perplexity is still far behind Google's dominance, the startup’s success highlights a growing appetite for alternatives that leverage modern AI technologies. This shift could fundamentally change user behavior and challenge established business models in the search engine market. Google, with its vast resources and data, continues to improve its AI capabilities, recently advancing its multimodal Gemini model to the top of benchmarks. Yet, Perplexity's innovative approach is making waves, offering a glimpse of how AI might redefine how we search.

However, Perplexity is not without its challenges. The platform has faced criticism for displaying content in search results that diminishes traffic to the original sources. To address this, Perplexity introduced the "Perplexity Publishers' Program," which shares ad revenue with select publishers featured prominently in search results. Still, smaller publishers may find themselves left out, a common issue also seen with Google.

Important Points:

• Perplexity answered 250 million questions in one month, up from 500 million queries in all of 2023.
• Competes with Google and Microsoft, but remains far behind Google’s daily query volume.
• AI integration in search could change user behavior and challenge existing business models.
• Criticized for displaying content that reduces traffic to original sources; introduced a publisher revenue-sharing program.
• Faces tough competition from Google, which continues to advance its AI capabilities.

What We Think About It:

Perplexity’s rapid growth in AI search demonstrates a significant shift in how users seek information. While it remains a challenger in a Google-dominated market, its innovative use of AI could lead to substantial changes in search engine dynamics. However, the path to success is fraught with challenges, particularly in balancing content rights and competing with industry giants. Google's recent legal setback as a monopolist are also a warning sign for big tech trying to compete with new entrants.

Cool AI Tools

• Delphi - Scale 1-1 personalized interactions with your digital clone

• Salesify - Your personal AI sales coach.

• Story AI - Turn ideas into visually compelling branded social posts.

Best of the Rest

• AI software “EdgeRIC” could make your internet experience smoother, faster
• Speculation runs wild for new GPT model after Altman posts strawberry garden
• OpenAI enters Google-dominated search market with SearchGPT
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Now that’s what we call progress, Midjourney

That’s all for today folks!

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