Perplexity AI vs. ChatGPT: A Chatbot Comparison | ResultFirst

Perplexity AI vs. ChatGPT: A Chatbot Comparison

As the race for AI gets more fierce, AI chatbots are leading this transformation as the best conversational AI tools. With technologies like Machine learning and Natural Language Processing, AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, Gemini, and the new Grok are bringing a new level of content intelligence. You just need to enter the prompt and get an instant response within seconds. No wonder more than 987 million people are using AI Chatbots today, with its global market expected to reach 46.64 billion by 2029.
Let’s compare Perplexity AI vs. ChatGPT. If you use these Chatbots daily, have you ever felt that all chatbots feel similar, like “You give a command, you receive the answer?” However, in reality, they completely differ regarding response generation and sources.
For instance, Perplexity AI is more of a traditional search engine that uses large language models (LLMs) to understand your command and provide answers with citations. However, what makes Perplexity AI slightly different from search engines is “that it gives an AI-generated answer with a concise gist of the answer with relevant links.
On the other hand, ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art language model based on GPT (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer). It is also a conversational AI chatbot that uses natural language processing to generate almost human-like responses. It is more informal, where you can chat with follow-ups, maintaining a consistent flow.
Although there are many differences between the two, one major difference is that “ChatGPT understands your text and responds to you in the same language as commanded, whereas Perplexity AI only answers in 28 languages.”
To provide you with more technical clearance, here we have conducted some real-time hypothetical tests to check the credibility of ChatGPT and Perplexity AI in various scenarios.
Also Read: DeepSeek vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: Which AI Best Fits Your Needs?

Scenario #1: Asking A Scientific Question

For the first test, we asked both chatbots a scientific question: “What causes Tsunami in the Sea.”
ChatGPT response was like:

ChatGPT reponse1

For Perplexity AI:

Perplexity Response
 Perplexity_Response 2
As you can see, both offered us an overview with a good mix of bullets, sentence structure, font style and overall output. However, what we conclude is that Perplexity AI gains a slight edge here.
Reason?

Perplexity AI, like traditional search engines, provided images and link sources at the top and then moved to the main answer. It is more familiar to what we have been using but conversational manner. On the other hand, ChatGPT gave a slightly more user-friendly answer, but the link sources, the images, and especially the related question section at the end make Perplexity AI win over ChatGPT here.

Scenario# 2: Asking a Mathematical Question

To test the mathematical reasoning capabilities, we asked Chatbots to solve an equation by removing parentheses around the equation’s first part while deliberately (and mathematically correctly) dropping the multiplication sign ahead of the ‘0’.
x=y=1/ y-1, if y=1, find the value of x
ChatGPT answered:

ChatGPT answered

Perplexity AI:

Perplexity_AI1

Both Chatbots understood the question, as it was expected, giving us the similar answer i.e value of x is undefined. However, again we will give this point to Perplexity AI
The reason:

As laymen, if we want an answer, we expect an explanation, especially when it’s a mathematical equation. ChatGPT analyzed command answers in just one step without supporting words. On the other hand, Perplexity explains why x cannot be calculated and then comes to a conclusion. According to the command, both are correct, but we will give this point to Perplexity AI again.

Scenario #3: Asking an Open-Ended Question

To test in-depth intelligence and how much AI can go, we asked for an open-ended (no restrictions) question: “Create a 10-day itinerary for a Paris Trip.”
 
ChatGPT responded:

ChatGPT responded

Perplexity AI responded:

Perplexity AI Responded
Well!! The AI bots gave almost the same response, like the same places to visit, timings, etc.
Reason

We asked to give a 10-day itinerary plan, and the response was basic: none of the chatbots provided things like ticket discounts, hotels to stay, or related things. So, one, according to our test, is the winner here.

Note:
These were some of the hypothetical scenarios that tested the credibility of ChatGPT and Perplexity AI. Although Perplexity overpowered ChatGPT, you must remember that we conducted the tests on basic free versions, and only the initial command was provided. Results can vary based on the prompts entered and your version.
Also Read: Battle of the AI: Chatgpt vs Gemini vs Copilot

Main Differences ChatGPT Vs Perplexity AI

What sets ChatGPT and Perplexity AI apart is their creative thinking and ability to understand our commands and respond similarly. Here are some of the key capabilities that set them apart.

1. Conversation Style and Tone

Perplexity AI: It’s a conversational model that answers your queries in real time. However, its main focus is information retrieval and research rather than simple human-like conversation.

  • On the other hand, ChatGPT is focused more on keeping the interaction alive in human conversation while responding to user commands and queries.

2. Web Research Abilities

Perplexity AI retrieves information from search engines like Google, Bing and academic articles. It also utilizes WolframAlpha and social media, making it correct and useful for research.
ChatGPT provides a search resource from Bing, but the depth is still missing compared to Perplexity AI.

3. Creation of Creative Content

Perplexity AI can change the AI model of your choice to use creative-cum-content generation. However, its capabilities in this regard are dwarfed by those of highly specialized models like ChatGPT.
ChatGPT creates perfect content due to its Transformer setup, fine-tuning, and general-purpose large-scale training database.

  • ChatGPT is trained on advanced natural language processing techniques to generate text that is contextually nuanced, creative, and imaginative.

4. Subscriptions

Apart from basic versions, both Chatbots have their premium models that let to explore all the features:
Also Read: ChatGPT vs. Perplexity for SEO Content: Who’s the Winner?
Perplexity AI
It offers unlimited free Quick Searches. Free plan users receive 3 Pro Searches per day, while premium membership users enjoy more than 300 per day.
Aside from the refined results, it asks if the input can be used as a follow-up search parameter. Really go in depth here; dig into more online sources like academic databases, industry-specific resources, and real-time web searches.
Perplexity AI is a more professional AI chatbot that maintains a proper communication flow like ChatGPT. It will consider previous interactions within the same thread so you can get a more personalized response.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is currently one of the top-ranked AI chatbots. You can get ample information from its basic free version, but it also offers different versions to unlock its full suite of services:

Free Version
  • All of GPT-4o mini’s content in full
  • Web search powered by Bing
  • Limited access to GPT-4o and o3-mini
  • Limited uploading of files, browsing the web, or analyzing their data
Plus
  • Supplementary file uploading for web browsing and data analysis access
  • Access to o3-mini, o3-mini-high, and o1
  • Limited access to Deep Research
  • Limited access to Sora for video generation
Pro
  • Unlimited access to all “o” series models and GPT-4o
  • Advanced voice mode
  • Access to o1 Pro mode
  • Increased access to Deep Research
  • Increased access to Sora for video generation

Different Modes: ChatGPT Vs Perplexity AI

Both ChatGPT and Perplexity AI have different interface modes that offer personalized and deep analytic capabilities for presenting information.

ChatGPT

Deep Research Mode:

Deep Research Mode

This mode is accessible to ChatGPT Plus users and allows users to gather further and more in-depth information on complex topics. A special feature of ChatGPT 4 and Turbo versions that goes ahead to access the web, analyze several aspects of the ideas, and produce structured insights when browsing is enabled.
This mode is mostly for those who do not need raw facts but want fuller surveys, expert-sounding summaries, or analytical breakdowns.

Search Mode

Search Mode

With browsing enabled, ChatGPT can act as a search assistant. Unlike Perplexity AI, however, it will not automatically extract up-to-the-minute search results for each query. Instead, users have to ask for the web version of their searches if they’re looking for the latest information.
This model provides information about current happenings or industry buzzwords and offers niche resources not included in its pre-trained knowledge. However, as this would not always have citations to refer to, users must verify the information by themselves by asking it to provide link sources.

Perplexity AI Modes

Deep Research Mode

Deep Research Mode
Like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI comes with a deep research mode, it is available for free but with limited queries. The mode accesses multiple web sources, cross-referencing each other for citation before formulating findings. It is extremely useful for academic research, professional reports, and technical inquiries as it assures data verification.
Unlike traditional search engines, however, Perplexity AI amalgamates this intelligence and retains sources for further reading and verification. Hence, it is sweeping the turf for pure, thus critical information and research.
Also Read: ChatGPT vs. Perplexity for SEO Content: Who’s the Winner?
Focus Filter Mode

Focus Filter Mode
Search Focus allows you to narrow your search and get information only on relevant topics.
ChatGPT may consider the search-specific instructions you give with your prompt, but it lacks the specific reference filtering mechanisms for perplexity or even advanced filters.
Such as the Perplexity AI Search Focus includes:

  • All (involving every piece of information attached to the internet)
  • Academic (simply looking for the published academic papers only)
  • WolframAlpha (consisting of merely those computational answers by WolframAlpha)
  • Social (discussion topics on social topics).

Both ChatGPT and Perplexity AI have strengths and weaknesses, as per their differences and features.

Conclusion: ChatGPT Vs Perplexity AI: Which Is Better?

In a nutshell, both ChatGPT and Perplexity AI are two powerful conversational AI models with excellent content generation capabilities. It all depends on your requirements, how you want to communicate, and how deep you can dive into their capabilities. However, you can use ChatGPT if:

You want a More Conversational AI Chatbot.

Chatgpt has a very user-friendly interface, clutter-free and it answers your questions in more humanized form. It serves as a general AI assist that can provide quick and instant responses. You can ask questions like:

  • Solve Puzzles, Riddles, Maths problems
  • Write, Debug, and Refine Programming Scripts.
  • Write formal emails, social network updates, and other text communications.
  • Identify and classify objects in images.
  • Create graphs, tables, and other visual forms of data representation.
  • Analyze and interpret information from the charts and datasets.
  • Summarize and give insights from the given documents.

Use Perplexity AI When:

You want Direct Information From The Web

Perplexity AI is an alternative to search engines that provides much more focused results than ChatGPT, with accurate link sources and images at the top. It is a great tool for researchers, students, and professionals who need quick, accurate, up-to-date, properly cited information.
However, Perplexity AI could be less useful for people looking to create original, creative content or run long-winded conversations with their chatbots.
No matter which chatbot you use, having the right strategy is the key to utilizing its performance in your best interest. That’s why it’s always better to partner with an agency like ResultFirst. With years of experience, we specialize in AI-driven marketing strategies that maximize engagement and conversions.

FAQ’s:

The main difference is that Perplexity AI does real-time web searches to provide the latest information, whereas ChatGPT draws information from the trained data (GPT) and seeks specific web data in selected cases. Both have a deeper contextual understanding and maintain conversation continuity.

ChatGPT is the ideal tool for summarizing long documents and research papers into structured, concise summaries with key insights. Perplexity AI can summarize texts, but its real strength is getting the latest research-based information by performing real-time web searches.

ChatGPT offers better integration solutions for businesses, including API access, enterprise solutions, and customizable AI models for different workflows. Perplexity AI focuses on research-based inquiries instead of massive business integrations.

ChatGPT is best for mathematics and logical reasoning as it provides detailed step-wise solutions with logical explanations followed by coding assistance as well. However, Perplexity AI sounds great for real-time data retrieval, where it does not provide satisfaction for problem-solving complex scenarios and in-depth reasoning tasks.

What to Read Next

ResultFirst is the ONLY SEO agency
you will ever need.

Our Pay for performance SEO programe helps companies
achieve impressive results