Perplexity - first worthy successor to Google Search

Ever since I first laid my hands on a computer nearly two decades ago, Google has been my go-to platform for finding information - that is, until 2024. That's when I discovered Perplexity. To my surprise, it outperformed Google in many cases. Instead of being presented with a list of links, I received concise, well-structured responses that saved me both time and effort. In this post, I will delve into the distinguishing factors between these two solutions.

Basic search process

Google often requires time and atteition to find the right link, searching through pages to locate the desired information. Over the years, there have been positive changes, such as the addition of tailored widgets, Wikipedia bios, maps, football match stats, and the helpful "did you mean?" feature.

However, the user experience has also seen a degradation. Some webpages attempt to manipulate SEO with unhelpful or meaningless content. Pop-ups, ads, paywalls, and sponsored links serve as constant distractions.

Perplexity, on the other hand, prioritizes delivering a specific response to your queries. Here, links aren't the primary focus but are provided as a side note for those who wish to delve into the sources.

Moreover, Perplexity offers a copilot feature that may occasionally prompt you with follow-up questions, and threads, which unfortunately, aren't always well-maintained. It's important to note that while the solution is promising, it's not fully mature and does come with its own set of shortcomings.

Customization

I've never really paid much attention to how Google customizes itself for me. It automatically switches languages and learns about me behind the scenes to personalize results. I've only switched services when I needed to search images, news, or scholar.

With Perplexity, I've found that I need to manually specify the language in the settings. This is crucial as it influences the language in which it searches pages and responds, especially when I oscillate between Poland-specific topics and more general ones. Additionally, I can input personal information to fine-tune the search and switch models, allowing me to browse the web with Perplexity or engage in a chat with a selected LLM. Additionally you have focus button (to choose academic, youtube, reddit etc.).

For me, Perplexity is a tool that requires more atetntion with setup but offers the unique ability to act as if I were someone else or to switch modes. I do wish there were multiple profiles available, allowing for an effortless transition between them.

Business model

Google has always been free, but the hidden cost is our attention, sifting through sites and navigating a barrage of ads. Perplexity, on the other hand, offers a pro subscription for enhanced features such as image and document uploads, improved response quality, and a higher co-pilot quota. While I currently have no need for these additional features, I can foresee myself being open to investing an extra $20/month in the future to save time and attention.

I anticipate that Google won't be left behind and will evolve, perhaps to incorporate bard or gemini-powered search to reduce effort and improve user experience. It's exciting to witness the AI revolution, with platforms like Perplexity challenging tech giants. These competitive landscapes always lead to superior experience for end users.