AI search startup Perplexity has officially launched its free AI-powered research automation tool, Deep Research. This marks the company's entry into the AI-driven research sector, which is currently dominated by OpenAI and Google.

Deep Research is designed to replicate the work of human researchers in a fraction of the time by conducting iterative searches, analyzing hundreds of sources, and generating comprehensive research reports. The tool enables users to create detailed research reports on any topic and is freely available to the public. Non-subscribers can perform up to five queries per day, while Pro users enjoy 500 daily queries.

Interestingly, OpenAI and Google have recently launched tools with the same name, "Deep Research," leading to direct competition due to naming overlap. Unlike OpenAI's Deep Research, which is restricted to its $200/month Pro plan, Perplexity’s version is accessible for free to all users, though it limits query counts for non-paying users. Paid subscribers receive unlimited access to the service.

In terms of performance, Perplexity claims that its tool can generate reports significantly faster, with most reports completed within three minutes compared to OpenAI's offering, which requires between 5 and 30 minutes. The Deep Research process involves searching based on user intent, refining results, synthesizing them into structured, detailed reports, and allowing export options such as PDF or shareable Perplexity Pages.

Perplexity highlights that its system mirrors human research processes more closely, dynamically adjusting search strategies based on new findings. In the Humanity’s Last Exam test, which evaluates AI reasoning across academic domains, Deep Research scored 21.1%, surpassing Google Gemini (6.2%), OpenAI’s GPT-4o (3.3%), and Grok-2 (3.8%), but still trailing behind OpenAI’s Deep Research (26.6%). On the SimpleQA factual knowledge benchmark, Deep Research achieved an accuracy rate of 93.9%, showcasing its capability in precise information retrieval.

Since its founding in 2022, Perplexity has rapidly gained traction in the AI search space, securing investments from notable figures like Jeff Bezos and NVIDIA, reaching a valuation of $9 billion. However, the company faces legal challenges, with several major media outlets accusing it of unauthorized use of copyrighted material. To address these issues, Perplexity has started revenue-sharing agreements with publishers such as Time and Fortune.

As AI-powered research assistants become increasingly popular, Perplexity’s freemium model may influence market dynamics. Whether this approach will drive broader user adoption or merely prompt OpenAI and Google to adjust their pricing strategies remains to be seen. Currently, Deep Research is available on the web and is expected to expand to iOS, Android, and Mac platforms soon.