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AI search engine Perplexity has revealed its latest feature – users will soon be able to get the AI to do their shopping for them.
Sharing the news on its website on Monday (Nov. 18), the start-up said the shopping function is “a first-of-its-kind AI commerce experience”.
Introducing Perplexity Shopping: a one-stop solution where you can research and purchase products. It marks a big leap forward in how we serve our users – empowering seamless native actions right from an answer. Shopping online just got 10x more easy and fun. pic.twitter.com/gjMZO6VIzQ
— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) November 18, 2024
How will Perplexity’s shopping function work?
Perplexity claims it will now be a one-stop shop for finding, researching, and buying products. Features include Snap to Shop, a camera tool that can find similar online results from a product photo alone and Buy with Pro, where users can check out directly from the Perplexity app or website.
When users search for a product, they will be shown product cards summarising pricing, key features and pros and cons.
“You no longer have to scroll through countless product reviews,” said Perplexity. “Perplexity gives you comparisons in clear, everyday language, so you can narrow down the best choices quickly and confidently.”
Importantly, information about products is not sponsored and is still generated by the AI. Last week, Perplexity began experimenting with sponsored searches on its free platform.
Retailers are encouraged to join the company’s free merchant program so it can have the most up-to-date information about products.
For now, the feature is only available for Pro users in the US, but the company said it plans to expand to other areas.
What is Perplexity?
Perplexity was founded in 2022 and describes itself as an AI search engine. It responds to questions like Google but compiles information from trusted sources including articles and journals. It also includes footnotes and links to original sources.
In the AI space, Perplexity is up against ChatGPT creator OpenAI and its search engine SearchGPT as well as Google’s Gemini feature. With this latest expansion into e-commerce, it’s now taking on retail giants like Amazon and Google’s shopping tab.
Feature image credit: Perplexity
