**Key Point 1:** Perplexity launches Deep Research tool, performing exceptionally well in multiple benchmark tests, even surpassing models like Google Gemini Thinking, while offering enterprise-level AI research report generation capabilities at a low price.
**Key Point 2:** Perplexity Deep Research excels in the “Humanity’s Last Exam” test, outperforming most models but still slightly trailing behind OpenAI.
**Key Point 3:** Perplexity Deep Research offers a free version, making it more attractive compared to OpenAI’s high subscription fees.
**Perplexity Releases Deep Research**
AI companies are racing to introduce deep research tools! On February 14, Perplexity announced the launch of its latest feature, “Deep Research,” joining the competition with Google and OpenAI. Google launched a similar feature for its Gemini platform last December, and OpenAI rolled out its own research agent earlier this month—all three companies even share the same name: Deep Research.
The goal of Deep Research is to provide more in-depth answers and offer verifiable citations to meet the needs of professional users. In a blog post announcing Deep Research, Perplexity noted that its Deep Research feature “excels at a range of expert-level tasks—from finance and marketing to product research.”
Perplexity Deep Research is currently available in a web version, with plans to be added to its Mac, iOS, and Android applications soon, enabling mobile users to access it.
To use Perplexity Deep Research, simply submit a query in Perplexity and select “Deep Research” from the dropdown menu; it will generate a detailed report. The generated results can be exported as a PDF file or displayed directly within Perplexity.
Perplexity stated that Deep Research “iteratively searches, reads documents, and thinks about the next steps, continuously refining its research plan as it gains more understanding of the subject area,” claiming it operates “similarly to how humans research new topics.”
**Slightly Behind OpenAI! Free Users Can “Deep Query” 5 Times a Day**
Perplexity AI also emphasizes the performance of its Deep Research in the Humanity’s Last Exam, an AI benchmark test that includes expert-level questions across various academic fields, with higher scores indicating closer proximity to “general artificial intelligence.”
In the test, it achieved a score of 21.1%, easily surpassing most other models, such as Gemini Thinking (6.2%), Grok-2 (3.8%), and OpenAI’s GPT-4o (3.3%), and only trailing behind OpenAI’s Deep Research (26.6%).
Perplexity Deep Research’s performance in the Humanity’s Last Exam, achieving a score of 21.1%.
Image / Perplexity
However, in the SimpleQA benchmark test, which consists of thousands of factual questions, Perplexity Deep Research achieved an accuracy of 93.9%, far exceeding the performance of other leading models.
In the SimpleQA benchmark test, Perplexity Deep Research achieved an accuracy of 93.9%.
Image / Perplexity
But for the average consumer, the most important factor is that using OpenAI’s Deep Research still requires a $200 monthly Pro subscription, even though OpenAI has indicated plans to expand to other subscription options; in contrast, Perplexity’s Deep Research is offered for free, allowing free users to make five queries per day, while professional subscribers paying $20 per month can enjoy 500 queries per day and faster processing speeds.
Thankful for open source! We’re going to keep making this faster and cheaper. Knowledge should be universally accessible and useful. Not kept behind obscenely expensive subscription plans that benefit the corporates, but not in the interests of humanity! [https://t.co/mtG4oZhl4z](https://t.co/mtG4oZhl4z)pic.twitter.com/M1yHtXJKUe— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) February 14, 2025
**What Sets Deep Research Apart from General Search?**
To briefly explain the difference between deep search and general search, it can be attributed to the “amount of data the AI reads.” According to tests conducted by the Digital Age, when asking Perplexity, “Please find the top three largest ETFs in Taiwan’s stock market and compare their stock selection logic and performance over the past year,” the differences are quite pronounced.
In a general search, Perplexity indeed cited data to identify the three largest Taiwanese stock ETFs: Yuanta Taiwan 50 (0050), Cathay Sustainable High Dividend (00878), and Yuanta High Dividend (0056), but it did not provide a discussion or data on “stock selection logic” and “performance over the past year.”
Perplexity’s general search still has limitations in the ability to query specific data.
Image / Perplexity
However, switching to deep search generates a well-structured article, and it is evident that Perplexity breaks down the user’s question into more detailed inquiries to aid content generation.
The results from deep search are clearly superior.
Image / Perplexity
**Comparison of Perplexity, OpenAI, and Google**
When asked to “compare the three deep research products,” Perplexity outlined the differences in technology, pricing models, and performance across different use cases and subjects, summarizing the distinctions as follows:
**Perplexity AI:** Utilizes iterative search and reasoning capabilities, able to quickly generate research reports, typically within three minutes. It excels at handling high-level professional tasks in finance, marketing, and product research, making it suitable for preliminary research and rapid information acquisition, applicable in areas such as market analysis and technology trend reports.
**OpenAI Deep Research:** More suited for enterprise-level applications, offering in-depth analysis, but requires a longer time (5 to 30 minutes) to complete reports, making it better suited for complex reasoning and professional domain validation.
**Google Gemini AI:** Compared to the other two, detailed information about its Deep Research functionality is less publicly available, but it has integrated similar deep research tools, potentially benefiting from seamless integration with existing productivity ecosystems, though specific application scenarios remain unclear.
**Further Reading:** The rapid growth behind Taiwan’s unicorn Appier: “Only 2 new employees added in a year” as the AI revolution arrives!
This article is collaboratively republished from: Digital Age
Editor: Li Xiantai
Source: Perplexity, TechChurch