Perplexity Enhances Search Capabilities with Visual Results

In a bid to improve user experience and reduce reliance on other search engines, Perplexity, an AI-powered search startup, has introduced a new feature that displays results for factual queries in a visually engaging way.

The platform now provides direct answers for temperature, currency conversion, and simple math queries, making it more convenient for users to access information.

Previously, Perplexity could fetch data from the web and display results in a descriptive manner. However, the new feature adds a visual flair to these results, making them more prominent and quick to access. CEO Aravind Srinivas announced on X that these basic queries will now be handled more efficiently on the search engine.

Notably, Srinivas had acknowledged last year that Google excels in handling basic queries like weather, time, and live sports scores. Perplexity’s move to display direct results instead of fetching from other sources aligns with Google’s approach of providing card-based information, including sports tournament tables and basic movie information.

While Perplexity’s new feature doesn’t link to sources for weather info and currency conversions, the company has been working with Tako, an AI search engine for visualizing information, to display information like stock prices.

This development comes amid controversy surrounding Perplexity’s handling of media articles and original reporting. Critics argue that AI-powered search engines generating media content without proper attribution and link-back traffic threaten publications’ businesses.

In response, Perplexity’s chief business officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, has stated that the company is exploring revenue-sharing deals with publications to allow them to earn recurring income.