Perplexity Labs, a tool for users of Perplexity’s $20/month Pro plan, was unveiled on Thursday. Perplexity Labs allows users to create reports, spreadsheets, dashboards, and more. Perplexity is the AI-powered search engine that is vying with Google.
Web, iOS, and Android users can access Perplexity Labs, and Perplexity’s Mac and Windows programs will shortly follow.
According to a blog article by Perplexity, “Perplexity Labs can help you complete a variety of work and personal projects.” “Labs is made to invest more time — at least 10 minutes — and use other tools [to complete tasks], like creating mini-apps and advanced file generation.“
In an attempt to diversify outside its primary business of search, Perplexity launched Labs on the same day that viral AI agent platform Manus unveiled a tool for creating slide decks. Perplexity recently purchased Read.vc, a professional social media network, and is now testing a web browser called Comet.
AI-powered Perplexity Labs can perform research and analysis in about ten minutes, creating reports and visualizations with capabilities including online search, code execution, and chart and image generation. According to Perplexity, labs can build code to organize data, apply calculations, and produce documents in addition to developing interactive web apps.
Every file produced during a Perplexity Labs workflow, including code files, charts, and photos, is arranged in a tab from which it is possible to view or download it. According to Perplexity’s blog post, “this expanded capability empowers you to develop a broader array of deliverables for your projects.”
Theoretically, everything sounds OK, but since AI is a flawed technology, Labs probably doesn’t always perform well. Naturally, we’ll hold off on making a decision until we’ve had an opportunity to test it.
With the launch of an enterprise plan last summer that included user management, “internal knowledge search,” and other features, Perplexity has made growing investments in corporate-focused capabilities. The actions may have been taken in part at the request of Perplexity’s investors, who are undoubtedly keen to see the company make a comeback as soon as possible. According to reports, Perplexity is negotiating to raise up to $1 billion from investors at a valuation of $18 billion.