Perplexity AI and ChatGPT are two popular AI assistant tools used by millions. Read this detailed Perplexity vs ChatGPT comparison to decide which one to use.
There are many AI tools on the market, among which Perplexity AI and ChatGPT are the most famous. However, which one is more worth your money?
In this guide, we will perform a detailed comparison of Perplexity vs ChatGPT to help you decide which one to use. However, if you want an AI assistant specifically designed for documents, like summarizing, translating, or analyzing, try UPDF AI Online for the best AI experience.
Part 1. Perplexity AI – A Modernized AI-Powered Search Engine
Perplexity AI is an AI search engine that provides real-time and reliable answers to your questions. It uses large language models (LLMs) to answer queries using web sources and cites links within the text response. Some of the advanced models it uses include GPT-4 Omni, Sonar 32k, and Claude 3.5 Sonnet & Haiku.
Perplexity AI allows you to search across the entire internet, find published academic papers, solve mathematical problems, generate text, and more. Think of it as an AI-backed alternative search engine that eliminates the need to visit different sites and helps you get the exact answer immediately.
The key features of Perplexity AI are as follows:
1. Real-time Web Search
Perplexity AI performs real-time web search for every question you ask. For example, if you search for "How long was the Burj Khalifa 2025 firework", Perplexity AI will perform a real-time web search and provide almost accurate information. This way, you can stay assured that you will receive up-to-date information.
2. Source Citation
Perplexity AI provides citations for all your questions. You will see numeric citations of all sources AI used to pull the answer. You can click the citations to verify the information. Moreover, you can click the "Show all" option to view all sources at once.
3. Collaborative Interactive Search
Perplexity has a unique feature called "Spaces". It allows users to create dedicated spaces for different projects and upload files to get detailed answers. In addition, you can share the space with others to create a group knowledge base.
4. Diverse Content Processing
Beyond text inputs, Perplexity AI can process a diverse range of content, including text documents (.docx or .txt), PDFs, images, videos, and more. It offers a complete search experience no matter your content format.
Part 2. ChatGPT – The Intelligent and Advanced AI Chatbot
ChatGPT is a generative AI chatbot that creates humanlike conversational dialogue using natural language processing (NLA). It allows users to ask questions in everyday language and get responses in the same style. Moreover, users can adjust the conversation to follow the desired length, style, format, language, etc.
ChatGPT advanced architecture is based on a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) that can intelligently understand the context and generate human-like responses. Moreover, ChatGPT is exceptional in contextual understanding. It can remember previous messages and facilitate smooth follow-up questions.
The key features of ChatGPT are as follows:
1. Conversational AI Capabilities
Using ChatGPT is like talking with another super intelligent human who knows everything. ChatGPT maintains context during conversations really well. It can remember past discussions and nuances in language and provide natural, human-like responses to follow-up questions.
2. Multimodal Interaction
ChatGPT supports multimodal interactions. It can process and respond to various forms of input. Beyond texts, it can also take inputs from images. Users can easily narrate their queries in the format they want and still get accurate responses.
3. DALL-E Integration
ChatGPT also comes with DALL-E. It is an image-generation model that can help create visuals from text inputs. It can create unique visuals requested by users. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to generate an image of a boat in a desert.
4. Content Creation
Another widely used feature of ChatGPT is content creation. It can generate high-quality written content, such as articles, essays, marketing material, reports, and more. It is capable of creating content, no matter the topic or content nature.
Simply put, ChatGPT is a powerful AI chatbot that handles day-to-day activities. However, there are tools that are leveraging ChatGPT capabilities for specific areas. For example, if you want an AI assistant specifically designed to handle documents—be it summarizing, translating, or explaining content—UPDF AI Online is the ideal choice.
Click the UPDF AI Online link below to experience AI assistance in handling document activities.
Part 3. Perplexity AI vs ChatGPT: Pros and Cons through Case Study
From the above discussion so far, we can extract that:
- Perplexity AI excels at providing accurate, citation-supported information suitable for research and academic use.
- ChatGPT excels in its conversational capabilities and versatility and is suitable for a wide range of applications.
However, both tools have pros and cons. To better understand, let's test out ChatGPT vs Perplexity AI with the same questions and see how they respond:
Case 1: Generate a travel guide from China to Italy
Perplexity AI Response
ChatGPT AI Response
Looking at both responses, we can see that ChatGPT's answer is more detailed. ChatGPT offers a more human-like and comprehensive answer that covers almost all the essential details we should know. In contrast, Perplexity AI also offers a convincing answer, but the details are limited.
Case 2: Will TikTok be banned in the US?
Perplexity AI Response
ChatGPT AI Response
The Perplexity vs ChatGPT responses show that the former cites more information. Since this request requires a real-time web search, Perplexity AI provides a more comprehensive answer with 11 citations. In contrast, ChatGPT also offers up-to-date information, but the content is limited and has only 3 citations. However, ChatGPT's response is easier to grasp than Perplexity AI's.
From the above test, we have found the below ChatGPT vs Perplexity AI pros and cons:
Pros of Perplexity AI:
- Accurate real-time web information retrieval
- Properly cited responses
- Interface resembling search engine
- Customizable search options
- Customizable search options
Cons of Perplexity AI:
- Sounds robotic
- Less effective for creative tasks
- Limited conversational depth
Pros of ChatGPT:
- Context-aware back-and-forth conversations
- Human-like responses
- Versatile applications
- Multimodal capabilities
- Creative content generation
Cons of ChatGPT:
- Generate answers with limited citations
- Doubtful accuracy
- Lack expression
Part 4. Comparison Table Between Perplexity AI and ChatGPT
Perplexity AI | ChatGPT | |
Pricing | - Pro: $20/month | - Plus: $20/month; - Pro: $200/month |
Accuracy | High accuracy with multiple source citations | Low accuracy and reliability |
Content Versatility | Focus on research and factual queries, more like a search engine | High content versatility, response to almost all content requests |
Response Speed | Ultra-fast responses | Fast responses, can vary depending on query complexity |
Application Suitability | Best for academic and research use | Best for creative writing, general queries, and day-to-day assistance |
Stability | Stable performance with no noticeable lags or performance issues | Smooth performance no matter the usage period |
Simply put, the differences between ChatGPT and Perplexity AI reflect that both have their unique capabilities. However, one thing that is common in both is the $20/month plan.
What if we tell you that you can have AI chats and document analysis at a much lower cost? With UPDF AI, you simply have to pay $29/quarter ($7.25/month) to access GPT-4o powered AI assistant. So, buy UPDF AI to have a more affordable AI assistant at your disposal.
Part 5. UPDF: The Best Choice for Combining AI and Document Editing
As we have mentioned in the above, UPDF AI Online is the ideal solution for users who need to summarize, translate, or explain content. The best part? This powerful AI assistant is seamlessly integrated into the UPDF app—a versatile PDF editor. This integration enables UPDF AI to analyze PDF documents across multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Modern users don't just need tools for answering questions or generating text; they also require robust capabilities for organizing, editing, and translating documents. While tools like Perplexity AI and ChatGPT excel at real-time information retrieval and natural language generation, they fall short in efficiently handling real-world tasks like document management and combining AI-driven features.
That's where UPDF stands out. It merges advanced document management with AI intelligence, delivering a purpose-built assistant that not only answers questions and chats with PDFs but also extracts information from images and translates or summarizes documents—offering functionality comparable to Perplexity AI and ChatGPT, but with added practical advantages.
In short, you get a one-stop place to complete the work with AI assistance and document editing. Hit the download button below to install and try out UPDF.
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You can also use it to convert PDF to mind map or proofread/rewrite/write content. To learn more about UPDF AI features, watch this YouTube video.
Conclusion
After a thorough comparison of Perplexity AI vs ChatGPT, we can clearly say that both are exceptional AI tools. The former strength lies in real-time research, while the latter strength lies in human-like conversations on anything. However, Perplexity AI struggles with limited conversational depth and creative tasks, while ChatGPT struggles with response accuracy and citations.
In contrast, we have found UPDF AI to be a holistic and practical tool that unifies AI assistance with comprehensive document management and editing. So, why not go out of the box and try UPDF AI today to experience its unique capabilities firsthand.