Get Your Money's Worth from Perplexity (2026 Guide)

Perplexity gets dismissed as a GPT wrapper, and that is exactly why I wanted to cover it. In this walkthrough you will learn how a tool that started out using another company's brain became one of my favorite AI tools next to Gemini and Claude. By the end you will know how to run deep research reports, filter your sources, build interactive dashboards, set up Spaces and scheduled tasks, and check the one privacy setting most people never open.

What you need

• A Perplexity account
• Ten minutes to click through the features as you read

1. What a GPT wrapper actually is (0:15)

Picture two robots. On the left, OpenAI's ChatGPT: a body with a brain inside, and OpenAI owns both. It owns the GPT model powering the application and the application itself. On the right, Perplexity. Fun fact: Perplexity did not own the brain that powered its application when it started. It used another company's brain and just built a body for it. That is what a GPT wrapper is. A lot of people criticize this type of application and say you cannot bring value as a wrapper. This whole tutorial shows otherwise.

2. Why Perplexity succeeded (1:04)

Perplexity was the first application that connected an LLM to the internet, able to search the web for information. That was a massive breakthrough at the time, and it is still one of the biggest GPT wrappers out there, one of the biggest startups created since the beginning of the AI race.

3. Basic search vs deep research (1:25)

On the homepage you have the basic Search mode on the left. But the mode that matters is deep research. With it you can generate entire reports: market analysis, market intelligence, prospection, tutorials, anything you want really.

The example I show in the video is a report I generated that same day. I am very interested in the WhatsApp market in Brazil, so I used deep research to trace how that market has evolved over the last few years. And if you are wondering how you know any of it is correct, that is what is great about Perplexity: you get the sources right at the end of the report.

4. Filter your sources (2:18)

Click the sources button on the homepage and you can point the search at social media, academic papers, or SEC filings if you are an American citizen. You can mix and match, so social plus academic, or only the web. Personally I mainly use web, social, and academic. Searching social is incredibly useful for marketing because you surface the latest trends people are actually talking about.

5. Create files and apps: interactive dashboards (2:48)

This feature used to be called Labs and is now named Create Files and Apps. On top of generating reports, Perplexity can generate interactive dashboards for any kind of market intelligence you want. Taking the same WhatsApp in Brazil example, I got an entire dashboard where I can interact with the data, which is a huge improvement in user experience over a wall of text. If the data visualization is not good enough, ask Perplexity to modify the dashboard.

6. Use it as a news dashboard (3:38)

Perplexity also behaves as a kind of news dashboard. In the left sidebar you have options such as finance and academic, so you can do a very precise type of research or just browse the trending topics per subject that interests you.

7. Spaces: your custom Perplexity (4:05)

Spaces are pretty much the equivalent of ChatGPT's custom GPT feature. A Space is a custom Perplexity dedicated to one precise use case. There is a fantastic example created by Perplexity itself: a Space that teaches you how to use Perplexity, by using Perplexity. I find that amazing.

8. Turn off AI data retention (4:35)

As I do with every application of this type, go check what happens to your data. Head into your account and open Preferences, then scroll to the bottom:

Account > Preferences > AI data retention

If this is turned on, Perplexity is keeping your data. Turn it off if you do not believe in Perplexity's mission. Knowing where your data goes is super important, even more so in this age of AI, so do your due diligence, or use AI to do the due diligence, and decide deliberately.

9. Scheduled tasks (5:20)

If you know you want the same report every week, every month, or every Friday, set up a task. A task is literally the same prompt being sent to Perplexity on a schedule: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and so on. You can also get the results as email notifications, which is super convenient.

10. Personalization (5:55)

Perplexity lets you run personalization just like ChatGPT does. I personally do not use it because I find it induces biases in the research I am doing, but some people prefer it. Know it exists and make your own call.

Pitfalls and tips

• Always scroll to the sources at the end of a deep research report before trusting the numbers.
• AI data retention may be on by default. Decide consciously instead of never opening Preferences.
• Personalization can bias research results. If you need neutral reports, leave it off.

Where to go next

Perplexity covers search and research. For the full picture of the big model providers, continue with Get Your Money's Worth from Gemini and Get Your Money's Worth from Claude.