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?
For the first test, we asked both chatbots a scientific question: “What causes Tsunami in the Sea.”
ChatGPT response was like:
For Perplexity AI:
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. |
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:
Perplexity AI:
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. |
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:
Perplexity AI responded:
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
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Plus |
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Pro |
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Both ChatGPT and Perplexity AI have different interface modes that offer personalized and deep analytic capabilities for presenting information.
Deep Research 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.
Deep Research Mode
Both ChatGPT and Perplexity AI have strengths and weaknesses, as per their differences and features.
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:
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:
Use Perplexity AI When:
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.
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.