Perplexity vs ChatGPT: What Sets This AI-Powered Search App Apart?

Bharti Airtel has announced a special offer for its Indian customers, providing a complimentary one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro. This move has propelled the app to the top of the free app charts on iOS, surpassing ChatGPT. Unlike typical AI chatbots, Perplexity functions as a web search engine that employs artificial intelligence to gather and present information in an accessible manner.

Perplexity Pro users enjoy enhanced search capabilities compared to the free version. Subscribers gain access to advanced AI models such as OpenAI's GPT-4.1, Claude 4.0 Sonnet, and Gemini 2.5 Pro. If users are dissatisfied with these outputs, they can opt for Sonar, a proprietary large language model developed by Perplexity.

Advanced Features for Enhanced Experience

The Pro subscription also includes reasoning models like OpenAI's o3 and xAI's Grok 4, designed for complex analytical queries. Perplexity claims it selects an "optimal combination of models" to generate comprehensive reports when tasked with research topics. This ensures users receive detailed and accurate information.

Labs is another feature available to Perplexity Pro subscribers. It allows users to create spreadsheets, dashboards, and web apps swiftly using AI-powered tools. According to Perplexity's blog post, Labs can perform tasks autonomously in about 10 minutes using various tools like code execution and image creation.

File Analysis and Image Generation

Perplexity Pro offers file analysis capabilities similar to ChatGPT and Gemini. Users can upload files such as PDFs, CSVs, audio, video, and images for examination. Powered by large language models like OpenAI's GPT-4 Omni and Claude 4.0 Sonnet, this feature provides robust analysis akin to other leading AI platforms.

Image generation is another exciting feature for Perplexity Pro members. Users can create images using text prompts with the default model being GPT Image 1. The company plans to introduce more models soon. Although there is no edit option available yet, users can regenerate images multiple times without restrictions.

Subscription Benefits and Limitations

Pro subscribers are limited to generating up to 150 images per month using GPT Image 1 but have unlimited regeneration attempts within this quota. For those interested in coding tasks, Labs assists in writing and executing code for data structuring or creating charts and documents efficiently.

This initiative by Airtel not only enhances user experience but also showcases the potential of AI-driven applications in everyday tasks. By offering such advanced features through Perplexity Pro, Airtel aims to provide its customers with cutting-edge technology at their fingertips.