Today, Perplexity has officially entered the competitive AI landscape alongside industry giants like OpenAI and Quora with its newly launched native macOS app. This highly anticipated release has been teased on X (formerly known as Twitter) throughout the month.
You can download the app for free from the macOS App Store. Similar to many modern applications, Perplexity also offers a premium subscription option, priced at $20 a month or $200 annually.
Pro vs. Free Features
Users on the free plan can take advantage of Quick Search and basic query functions, along with up to five Pro Searches daily. By opting for the paid subscription, you’ll unlock up to 600 Pro Searches each day and gain access to various AI models tailored to your specific needs. Additionally, premium users can analyze PDFs, CSVs, and images they’ve uploaded.
Perplexity emphasizes that their app has been designed with Mac users in mind, featuring a clean interface, quick response times, and optimized resource management. Other offerings include voice search, dual search modes, customizable shortcuts, and the ability to engage in threaded conversations.
The threaded conversation feature allows users to ask follow-up questions, ensuring that the app delivers contextually relevant answers. Furthermore, related topics are suggested at the conclusion of each response.
In line with many other players in the AI field, Perplexity’s platform includes citations to enhance the reliability of the information provided. There is also a library feature that allows users to review their previous searches.
The Rise of Standalone AI
With this new release, Perplexity steps into the desktop application market, joining OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Quora’s Poe. This app offers an additional avenue for users looking to utilize AI directly on their desktop systems.
AI tools like Perplexity enable users to access information effortlessly. Whether it’s finding answers to common inquiries, conducting research, generating blog posts, outlining articles, or completing everyday tasks, all this can be done without needing to open a web browser.
I’ve previously called Perplexity AI one of the best search tools available, and personally, as someone who’s generally critical of AI, I find this app to be remarkably effective. It’s fast and integrates seamlessly into workflows. Installation took only about a minute, and I appreciate that I haven’t been pressured to upgrade to the premium version yet.
In fact, I’m somewhat surprised at how much I enjoy using this app. It’s quickly becoming an important part of my daily routine. However, the best way to determine if it suits your needs is to download it and try it out for yourself.