What is Perplexity and What Does it do 

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered search engine that combines conversational AI with real-time web search to deliver precise, cited answers to complex queries. Unlike traditional search engines that return lists of links, Perplexity provides direct answers with transparent source citations, making it ideal for enterprise decision-making that requires authoritative, verifiable information. The platform transforms time-intensive research tasks into minutes-long automated processes, giving executives immediate access to expert-level analysis across finance, marketing, and strategic planning.

Bottom Line: Perplexity's Deep Research feature can complete work in 2-4 minutes that would take human experts several hours, while Perplexity Labs creates actionable deliverables like reports, dashboards, and presentations—making it essential infrastructure for data-driven leadership.

Strategic Use Cases for Enterprise Leadership

1. Competitive Intelligence & Market Analysis

• Real-time competitor monitoring: Track pricing changes, product launches, and strategic moves with cited sources
• Market trend analysis: Generate comprehensive reports on emerging markets, regulatory changes, and industry shifts
• Investment due diligence: Research potential acquisitions, partnerships, or market entry opportunities

2. Executive Decision Support

• Board presentation preparation: Create data-backed slides and reports for strategic meetings
• Crisis response research: Rapidly gather authoritative information during urgent situations
• Regulatory compliance tracking: Stay current on changing regulations affecting your industry

3. Strategic Planning & Innovation

• Technology landscape mapping: Understand emerging technologies and their business implications
• Customer behavior insights: Research demographic trends and consumption patterns
• Supply chain intelligence: Monitor global events affecting operations and logistics

Key Features Breakdown

The foundational AI search engine that uses natural language processing and machine learning to provide exact and complete responses with real-time information. Features conversational follow-up questions and maintains context across interactions.

Deep Research Mode

Launched in February 2025, this feature performs dozens of searches, reads hundreds of sources, and autonomously delivers comprehensive reports. Key capabilities:

• Autonomous research workflow: Iteratively searches, reads documents, and reasons through material to refine research plans
• Expert-level performance: Scores 21.1% on Humanity's Last Exam benchmark, outperforming Gemini Thinking, o3-mini, and other leading models
• Speed advantage: Completes most research tasks in under 3 minutes
• Export capabilities: Reports can be exported to PDF or shared as Perplexity Pages

Perplexity Labs (Premium Feature)

Released in May 2025 for Pro subscribers, Labs creates reports, spreadsheets, dashboards, and interactive web applications. Advanced capabilities include:

• Multi-format output: Generates reports, spreadsheets, dashboards, and mini-apps using tools like web search, code execution, and chart creation
• Extended processing time: Performs 10 minutes or more of self-supervised work to turn ideas into completed deliverables
• File organization: All generated files (charts, images, code) are organized in tabs for easy viewing and downloading

Critical Watchpoints: Risks to Avoid

1. Over-Dependence Without Verification

While Perplexity provides citations, verify critical business decisions through multiple sources. The AI can synthesize information effectively but may miss nuanced context or conflicting expert opinions that require human judgment.

2. Data Privacy in Sensitive Contexts

Avoid inputting confidential company data, customer information, or proprietary strategies when using the public version. For enterprise use, evaluate their privacy policies and consider whether sensitive queries require internal research tools.

3. Regulatory and Legal Limitations

Perplexity faces ongoing legal challenges from major media organizations alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted material. Be cautious when using research for public communications or publications that could involve copyright concerns.

4. Source Quality Variability

Despite citation features, source quality can vary. The platform aggregates from diverse web sources, which may include biased or outdated information. Always assess source credibility for high-stakes decisions.

5. Real-Time Information Gaps

While Perplexity accesses current web data, there may be delays in reflecting the most recent developments, especially for rapidly evolving situations.

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Quick Wins (Week 1-2)

1. Immediate pilot: Start with low-risk research tasks like industry trend analysis and competitor monitoring

2. Team training: Have 2-3 key staff members test basic search and Deep Research features

3. Use case validation: Identify specific recurring research needs where Perplexity can replace manual processes

Phase 2: Strategic Integration (Month 1-2)

1. Subscription evaluation: Test Pro subscription ($20/month) for unlimited Deep Research queries

2. Workflow integration: Incorporate Perplexity into existing research and analysis processes

3. Quality benchmarking: Compare Perplexity research quality against traditional methods

4. Team scaling: Train additional team members on advanced features

Phase 3: Advanced Implementation (Month 2-3)

1. Labs evaluation: Test Perplexity Labs for creating reports, dashboards, and presentations

2. Process automation: Replace time-intensive manual research with automated Perplexity workflows

3. Integration planning: Assess how Perplexity fits with existing business intelligence tools

4. ROI measurement: Quantify time savings and decision-making improvements

Long-Term Strategic Impact

• Decision velocity: Accelerate strategic decision-making through faster access to analyzed information
• Competitive advantage: Stay ahead of market developments through continuous intelligence gathering
• Resource optimization: Reduce analyst time spent on routine research tasks
• Knowledge democratization: Enable all team members to access expert-level research capabilities

Executive Takeaway

Perplexity AI represents a fundamental shift from information retrieval to intelligent analysis. 

By making expert-level research available to everyone for free, with unlimited access for $20/month, it democratizes strategic intelligence gathering that was previously resource-intensive. 

For executives, this means: Faster strategic responses, reduced research costs, and the ability to make data-driven decisions at the speed of business. The platform's combination of speed (minutes vs. hours), accuracy (expert-level benchmarks), and transparency (source citations) makes it essential infrastructure for competitive advantage. Action required: Pilot Perplexity immediately for non-sensitive research needs. The early adoption advantage compounds as teams develop expertise with advanced features like Deep Research and Labs. Investment perspective: At current pricing, Perplexity pays for itself if it saves just 2-3 hours of analyst time per month. With major partnerships pending with Samsung and potential Apple integration, early enterprise adoption positions organizations ahead of mainstream business AI adoption.