Master AI Search Engines: 7 Essential Tips to Conquer Perplexity

1. Enhancing Response Quality by Properly Configuring Your Perplexity Account

Whether you are a regular user of Perplexity or other conversational agents like ChatGPT or Gemini, one thing remains constant: proper account configuration is crucial. Often overlooked, this initial step significantly improves the AI’s ability to understand the context of your query and how to respond, both in terms of content and style. Essentially, spending time on setting your preferences can save you from repeatedly clarifying your instructions.

In Perplexity, by clicking on your profile picture on the left sidebar and then on Customization, you can adjust several settings:

• Introduce Yourself: in this field, you can specify your areas of interest (e.g., marketing, social media), your goals (e.g., professional monitoring, writing), the tone the AI should use in its responses (concise, detailed, etc.), and even the response format (bullet points, paragraphs, etc.).

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• Location: by specifying your location, Perplexity can offer geolocated information such as “more precise weather and sports forecasts,” as detailed by the platform.
• Reference Saved Memories: similar to ChatGPT’s Memory function, by enabling this feature, Perplexity can draw on your past queries and “use its memories” before crafting a response. You can adjust the information and topics stored in memory under the tab Edit Your Saved Memories.

Less central but still useful, the Preferences tab allows you to set the language of the interface and responses, or enable widgets on the homepage. For paid subscribers, it offers an additional option: choosing the model used by Perplexity to generate its responses. By default, the search engine selects the most suitable model for each query. However, it is also possible to force it to use GPT-4.1, Claude 4.0 Sonnet – some of the most advanced technologies from its competitors – or Sonar. This last model, developed in-house, is designed for document research and uniquely synthesizes information it finds on the web in real-time, rather than relying solely on a static corpus.

2. Smartly Utilizing Perplexity’s Pro Search Mode

Perplexity offers two search modes, Quick Search and Pro Search. The former, freely accessible and unlimited, provides quick, basic responses usually based on a limited number of sources. Ideal for answering a “day-to-day question,” as Perplexity notes, it is less effective when delving into a topic in depth.

Pro Search, on the other hand, is the core of the AI-powered search engine, as we discussed in our dedicated guide. Utilizing the latest language models from Perplexity, Anthropic, or OpenAI, it examines a wide array of often highly credible sources, explains its reasoning, and can even pose follow-up questions to precisely understand the user’s needs or continue the conversation. This mode is free for up to three uses per day; beyond that, a subscription is required. Therefore, it is essential to provide a particularly detailed prompt. The American company shares several prompt creation best practices in a guide.

When you first log in to the platform each day, Pro Search is (theoretically) activated by default. However, you can also manually activate it by following these steps:

• Go to Perplexity,
• In the search bar, click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom left,
• Check the option Try Pro Search.

3. Generating an Image on Perplexity

Surprisingly, given its focus, Perplexity also offers the ability to generate images. This feature, integrated into Pro Search and reserved for paying subscribers, remains accessible three times per day for free users, whether on iOS, Android, or the web version. By default, the tool uses the GPT Image 1 model, according to a help page, with the option to switch to more advanced models like Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental or FLUX.1 for subscribers.

Here’s how to generate an image on Perplexity:

• On the homepage, write a description of the image you want to generate, such as “Generate a realistic image of a European cat on a Paris rooftop at sunset”,
• Submit your request by pressing the Enter key on your keyboard,

If you are not satisfied with the result, simply click on Regenerate to get a new version. There is also an option to download the image by clicking on the dedicated icon.

4. Creating a Recurring Task on Perplexity

Reserved for Pro and Enterprise Pro subscribers, and currently available on the web version, the Tasks feature allows for the automation of certain actions, setting up customized alerts, or scheduling reminders, much like what ChatGPT already offers. Here’s how to create a task on the platform:

• Type a precise description of the task to be performed in the prompt bar, then start the search,
• Once the results are displayed, click on the Create a Task option,
• Choose the frequency of execution by specifying the day and time, write a clear title, then confirm by clicking Save.

Note that it is also possible to set up a recurring action by clicking on your profile picture, then selecting Tasks.

5. Analyzing the Content of a PDF File with Perplexity

Like many of its competitors, Perplexity allows users to attach a file during the creation of a new discussion thread, which it can then analyze. The platform supports various formats, including PDFs and text files, provided they do not exceed 25 MB. “Short files can be analyzed in their entirety. If you upload a long file, Perplexity will extract the most important parts to provide the most relevant response to your query,” explains a help page.

To attach a file, simply click on the paperclip icon in the search bar and select a document. You can then ask the AI about its content, with queries like “summarize page 12” or “what are the key points of the document?”. The AI retains the content of the PDF throughout the discussion.

6. Searching for Results from a Specific Source via Perplexity

If you want to obtain information from a specific website, such as Le Monde, you can enter the command “Set source: site/lemonde.fr” in the dialogue box, along with your query. This allows the search to be restricted to that single source, thus avoiding clutter, cross-verifying information, or using a site deemed reliable and relevant as a documentary base.

7. Using Keyboard Shortcuts on Perplexity

Lastly, the Perplexity interface incorporates several shortcuts designed to streamline the experience and expedite certain actions:

• Create a new discussion thread: Ctrl (or ⌘) + K
• Activate incognito mode: Ctrl (or ⌘) + ;
• Focus the question input: Ctrl (or ⌘) + J
• Display shortcuts: Ctrl (or ⌘) + /