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Perplexity AI
★4.6
Perplexity AI dominates Reddit discussions across r/ChatGPT and r/perplexity_ai as the citation-backed research assistant solving ChatGPT hallucination problems, praised by graduate students conducting literature reviews requiring verifiable sources, journalists fact-checking claims needing real-time web data, and researchers avoiding fabricated citations that plagued early ChatGPT academic usage.
Key Features:
- ✓Citation-backed responses with inline source links for verification
- ✓Real-time web search providing current information versus ChatGPT knowledge cutoff limitations
- ✓Free tier: 5 daily Pro searches (GPT-4/Claude 3.5) + unlimited Quick searches
- ✓Pro tier: Unlimited advanced searches, file uploads, image generation, API access
- ✓Multiple AI model selection: GPT-4, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Sonar, or mix-and-match per query
- ✓Focus mode: Academic, Writing, Video, Math, Programming specialized search contexts
Pricing:
Free tier available, Pro at $20/month (unlimited Pro searches, GPT-4, Claude 3.5)
Pros:
- + Citation accuracy eliminates hallucinated sources plaguing ChatGPT research
- + Real-time information for current events, stock prices, recent studies ChatGPT misses
- + Free tier genuinely useful (5 daily Pro searches) versus ChatGPT feature-locked free version
- + Academic focus mode optimizes for scholarly sources, peer-reviewed papers
Cons:
- - Conversational abilities weaker than ChatGPT for creative writing, storytelling
- - Response speed slower (10-30 seconds) due to web searching versus ChatGPT instant answers
- - Occasional citation errors: sources exist but do not fully support claims
- - Pro tier expensive ($20/month) when free ChatGPT handles 80% of non-research tasks
Best For:
Graduate students conducting literature reviews requiring verifiable citations, researchers needing current information beyond ChatGPT knowledge cutoff, journalists fact-checking claims with source verification.