How Does Perplexity AI Differ From Traditional Search Engines​?

For many years, marketing agencies have been serving their customers with the aim of getting their content on the first page of Google results. It wasn't a complicated tactic. The goal was to include important words and phrases in content, and then encourage people to click through. 

The growth of Perplexity AI and other "answer engines" is upending this familiar dynamic. We are seeing the end of the search-and-browse business model and the beginning of an ask-and-answer business model. As marketing allies to those who are living through this transformation, it is essential to understand the nature of this difference from the search engines with which we have been familiar for twenty-plus years.

Our Wikipedia AI search audit services offer new tools for assessing how content is referenced and sourced in AI-generated answers, further marking this shift.

The Core Technology Shift

Conventional search engines such as Google/Bing are index and retrieve services. These search engines crawl the internet and index numerous web pages. Once they have indexed these web pages, they are able to rank them for relevance and authority. When you carry out a search for a certain term, it provides you with a list of web pages to search for your answer.

How does Perplexity AI differ from traditional search engines? Perplexity AI works in a different way. This is a conversational answer-seeking engine that relies on Large Language Models (LLMs) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). While it merely indexes hyperlinks, it actually reads what's inside those hyperlinks. It combines all that information to give you a direct answer to your question. It does not merely indicate where the library is; it actually reads the book and summarizes the readings for you.

From a user perspective, what makes Perplexity AI different from traditional search engines? In a normal search engine, users must engage with their search process. They have to type a search word and then choose a link to click. They even have to open different pages for a complete answer.

The Perplexity service provides a passive and chat-like experience. The front-end resembles a chat box, not a directory listing per se. The queries are given as questions, and the response comes as full paragraphs answering these questions. When an answer to a question is not complete, the next question is asked, and the context does not have to be repeated. This means users have to click fewer times to reach actual sites and spend more time interacting with the service itself.

Accuracy & Sourcing

One thing that worries people most about AI is accuracy. Conventional search engines are left to perform fact-checking for users to do themselves. It is left to users to decide that information is inaccurate if a low-quality link is clicked.

What sets Perplexity apart in its attempt to fill the divide between AI-driven “hallucinations” and facts is that it sources its claims. Every finding in a Perplexity-response is footnoted to refer back to the main article. This is a significant difference because it does not rely on ChatGPT, which has a tendency to “make up” facts. Perplexity is better than ChatGPT in this respect, ensuring more reliability through direct sourcing of information.

Optimizing for the New Age of Search

We’re advising clients at Lumino Digital that the concept of "ranking" is different in this environment. In the search environment, it is very important to be number one. In the answer environment, it is very important to be the source that is cited.

Perplexity favors high-quality, reputable information that the AI algorithm can easily understand. There is a shift here from keyword-based optimization to being a true topic authority. We have to distribute informative content that thoroughly addresses a query. If your content is hidden in filler content, the AI algorithm might not even read it. A unique source of information or expertise offers a much better chance to be footnoted, which becomes the new click-through.

Adapting to the Future

The objective of digital marketing has not changed, but the process of achieving it is developing. Traditional search engines will not disappear anytime soon, however, Perplexity is definitely increasing. So, you need to make sure that your brand is more than just “a link on a page,” and that it is helping power the answers of tomorrow. For more information on this industry shift, contact our team at Lumino Digital today!