Since the popularization of ChatGPT, we have seen a number of proposals that, like Perplexity AI, They intend to provide an additional layer on top of the OpenAI chatbotwhich improves what it can offer us, whether it enriches its output in some way, or extends its reach to web pages, browsers, documents, etc. Among them, as is usual in these cases, we find some very interesting solutions, others embarrassing and many that fall somewhere between the two extremes.

As someone interested in artificial intelligence and the emergence of services based on it, which we have been experiencing in recent months, I spend a lot of time researching and testing new designs in this area. I’ve said on many occasions that the new Bing, even with its flaws, seems to me to be one of the best chatbot implementations I’ve ever seen, and the proposal to combine multiple AIs into a single app, as Poe says yes, seems great to me too proposal.

This constant exploration of new AI-based designs led me to meet this morning with Perplexity AI, a service based on ChatGPT but improving it and extending its reach in various ways. I’ve been testing it all day because it wouldn’t be right to recommend something without barely knowing it. Now, after a few hours of using it in different ways, I have come to the conclusion that, at least in its current state, it is highly recommended.

The first thing I liked about Perplexity AI is that It’s accessible through its website, but it also has an iOS app and a Google Chrome extension. In all three cases, web, app and extension, its interface is quite simple, so you will be able to start using it in less than a minute. This may sound silly, but I’ve already come across a service that seems to want to mimic a spaceship control panel.

Another aspect I liked, and a lot, is that at least for now no user account is required. Yes, unlike other major proposals in this field, Perplexity AI does not require you to register and therefore does not require you to provide personal information. Of course, this made you deduce another point, that we are talking about a service (again, I have to do an apostille that it is, at least for now) completely free.

Internet connection and source identification is a must in my opinion to trust an AI based chatbot. Hallucinations from generative models are a problem, and not being able to verify the information provided by AI means that all of its output must be questioned. Well, just like Bing, Perplexity AI is also connected to the internet and therefore gets up-to-date information and identifies resources used for each response.

Both the web interface and the iOS app (hopefully the Android version won’t take too long) work much like any other chatbot. We have a text field in which we write our question (we can formulate it in Spanish, even if the website and the application are in English, and we will receive an answer in our language) and after sending, we will receive an answer , under which it refers to the resources used.

However, the Chrome extension presents a different proposition, more tailored to the context. After installing it, clicking on its icon will show a field in which we can enter our query, but in this case we also have a selector that allows us to choose whether the question is limited to the web page we have open, to the entire domain of the same domain, or is a question of a general naturethat is, they are not linked to the page we have open.

In addition, it also integrates one of the features that have become the most popular recently, that summary of the content of the website we have open at that moment. To do this, just click on the Summarize button that appears in the upper right corner, and in a few seconds we will get a summary (in English, yes, even if the summary page is in another language ) of the content of the same. At this point I have to say that I tested it on multiple sites and with all types of content and the result was always fairly accurate.

As I said, it’s still a first impression, but if it keeps all the good things of its current conditions and also evolves to improve, Perplexity AI deserves to be highlighted as one of the most interesting and recommended chatbots today.