I use it for very quick searches much like I would have used Google. Basically gives me the first page of Google results minus sponsored links plus a few-paragraph wiki for whatever.

I have Pro Claude plan, so I use that for deeper research. Not sure there's much difference now that Claude has web search. Perp is slightly more terse and also doesn't expend my tokens for Claude code

I am a pretty regular user - I’ve found it to be helpful, and a better way of searching the web for answers.

But I also haven’t used Google in years (I switched to other search engines) so their AI might be just as good.

Perplexity also has overlap with ChatGPT’s web search, but Perplexity is faster for me.

I find myself using it more and more as time goes on. I got one of those year long deals so I'm not really too invested in the cost but the overall experience is not bad.

You get several models you can use (albeit they're not quite as powerful as their branded versions directly). you can setup projects and most other features you come to expect.

They do a good job with search though which is kind of their core value prop. They summarize well, cite sources, and have largely been pretty accurate with their findings. Being able to start a research task and provide more info and context while it is running is nice too for that "oh, I forgot about this!" moment.

With the pro sub you also get $5 in api credits a month so there's that.

Even during ChatGPT peak, when HN was buzzing with every other post being how ChatGPT/other LLM product replaced Google for them, I could not honestly switch, or meaningfully reduce my Google usage.

Until Perplexity.

It was the AI product that actually reduced my Google usage. Even with AI mode directly built into Google homepage now, Perplexity is still better.

It has basically zero hallucination, each para/entry backed by a URL, and lower latentcy than any other LLM product.

I don't know why you find it bad. I use it daily, and for serious searches.

It has fundamentally changed the way I search the web/ask questions in the web. One particular way: I can now combine multiple subsequent searches into one. And I can trust the results.

I am a fan. Because it is search based, I see a lot less hallucination, and it always provides links so you can click the link to verify the information.