Purpose & Core Functionality
Perplexity AI:
Primarily a search-oriented AI. It uses natural language processing and web-based machine learning to extract answers in response to user questions, oftentimes with crediting sources. Great for factual on the spot, up-to-the-minute information and citations.
ChatGPT:
Designed as a conversational AI. It can respond to questions, explain concepts, generate text, assist with coding, creative writing tutoring and much more. It does not have any actual ties to live web search (except in Pro with browsing).
Knowledge Base
Perplexity AI:
Utilises the search API which queries the web in real time. That means its knowledge is current and includes references from recent web pages.
ChatGPT:
Knowledge is pre-trained up to a certain date (for GPT-5-mini, it would be 2025 knowledge). Yes, for the base model it doesn’t get to real time unless linked in with the browser.
Accuracy & Reliability
Perplexity AI:
Pros: Usually links to sources, so it’s easier to fact check.
Cons: It relies on the web; it depends on sources and some of the answers may be affected by questionable pages.
ChatGPT:
Pros: Can produce long, detailed and structured responses.
Cons: If not verified, it can generate confident-sounding but incorrect answers (“hallucinations”).
User Experience
Perplexity AI:
Short, concise answers.
Focus on summarizing search results.
Limited creative output.
ChatGPT:
Longer, conversational responses.
Writes essays, stories, coding scripts, explanations.
The one is temperament, and the other style.
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