Perplexity comes as a native macOS app
After ChatGPT, Perplexity is now also available on macOS without browser detours. The app supports multiple models and aims to make it easier to search online.
Perplexity on the Mac: competitor for ChatGPT – and Google.
(Image: Perplexity)
The AI start-up Perplexity has released its own macOS application for the first time. The application called "Perplexity: Ask Anything" has been available for free in the Mac App Store since this week and enables direct use without a browser detour, similar to the official ChatGPT app. Perplexity does not see itself as a pure chatbot, but as an AI-supported search engine. For this reason, it is also possible to use different large language models (LLMs).
LLM with connected search engine
Technically speaking, Perplexity is a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), which combines a regular search for content on the web with an evaluation by generative AI. Perplexity can be addressed via text input or voice and is designed to provide up-to-date answers, so it is not limited to the training level of the LLM. Answers can be refined via chat, and Perplexity also provides links to the sources of the results. This is intended to create trust in the results –, whereby users often tend not to go through the sources manually.
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It is also possible to access the Perplexity Pro payment service via the app. This provides access to better models, and up to 600 "Pro requests" can be made per day. Images and files (such as PDFs and CSVs) can also be uploaded and analyzed. It's not cheap: in Germany, you have to pay 22 euros per month or 229 euros per year if you buy via the App Store.
Models available from several providers
GPT-4-Turbo Claude 3, Sonar 32k and GPT-4o are currently available as part of Perplexity Pro. Up to 4000 tokens (i.e. word parts) can be processed per request in standard mode, with Perplexity Pro up to 32000 tokens are possible. GPT-4 and Claude 3 issue up to 4000 tokens in one go.
Users without a subscription can also at least try out "Pro requests": However, these are limited to five per day. Otherwise, only simple quick searches are permitted.
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