OpenAI launched ChatGPT globally late last year without dedicated chat experiences for other platforms. But the generative AI service soon became available on smartphones, tablets and computers via all sorts of tricks and standalone third-party apps. We have already shown you how to use ChatGPT on iPhone beyond the obvious way: open the AI application in a browser window. There’s now a new iPhone app for this called Perplexity AI, which is easily the only iPhone ChatGPT search engine app you should care about.
What is Perplexity AI?
Perplexity AI is another conversational search engine powered by artificial intelligence (AI). It’s available either in a browser, where you can ask questions like you would with ChatGPT, or in a standalone iPhone app. The latter is the best experience, as it offers a simple interface to interact with the chatbot.
Perplexity uses ChatGPT technology to provide answers in a conversational way. You can ask follow-up questions to request additional information and follow up on different leads.
The Perplexity AI offers a choice between concise and complex answers and lists the sources it used to retrieve information at the end of the answer.
The best part about Perplexity AI is that unlike ChatGPT clients for iPhone or the ChatGPT web experience, you don’t need to create an account.
Perplexity AI will work as soon as you load it into a browser or install the iPhone app.
But Perplexity will not offer other ChatGPT features. It will not write any code or tests for you.
How to install Perplexity AI on iPhone?
If you’ve had trouble getting a ChatGPT account for the past few months, it’s because the service was incredibly crowded. This is where Perplexity AI differs. You don’t have to wait. The application is available for download on iPhone (and iPad). Just load the App Store and search for Perplexity. Alternatively, you can load this link on your iOS or iPadOS device.
Once installed, open it like any regular iPhone app.
You will be presented with a clean chat interface which might contain suggestions at the top. You can interact with them or just ask your question.
You’ll get answers in seconds, with sources and suggestions for further research. If you hate typing, you can use voice to start a perplexity search.
Threads for various Perplexity searches will be available on the homepage, as seen in some of the screenshots above. But you can delete your history and even deactivate it if you wish.
How reliable is the information offered by Perplexity?
Generative AI may offer incorrect information. This is something we’ve been telling you since the early days of ChatGPT. Therefore, Perplexity AI may also provide false information from time to time. This is something to consider when using this new ChatGPT based search engine for iPhone.
However, the app offers a clear source for the information it presents. This should make it easier to check answers that might not make immediate sense. Helpful follow-up question suggestions provide another way to get additional information on a topic.
How much does Perplexity ChatGPT search on iPhone cost?
Besides not needing an account to access this powerful ChatGPT search engine, you don’t even have to pay for it. There is no one-time fee for Perplexity AI or a subscription model. And the app does not offer in-app purchases or advertisements.
This makes Perplexity AI an amazing ChatGPT search client that you just have to try. There’s no better alternative right now, and Perplexity will set the bar high for ChatGPT experiences on iPhone.
What data does Perplexity collect from the iPhone?
From ChatGPT privacy is a big dealSince this budding generative AI industry deals with a lot of data, it’s also important to look at data apps like Perplexity AI collected from the iPhone.
Per the App Store listing, Perplexity only collects iPhone app usage data and diagnostics. This is more than acceptable for an application that deals with generative AI. But, again, Perplexity doesn’t require a user account and doesn’t show any ads.
What about a Perplexity AI app for Android?
There is no Android app for Perplexity as of this writing. But you can still access the web version of Perplexity from any platform, be it Android, Mac, or Windows. Begin on this linkand ask your questions to Perplexity.