1
of 5— Create your account
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll be using Perplexity to compress hours of vendor research, competitive analysis, and market benchmarking into 15–30 minutes — with cited sources you can link in your business case or recommendation memo. Unlike ChatGPT, Perplexity searches the live web and cites every claim.
What you'll need
- A Perplexity account at perplexity.ai (free tier is sufficient for most research; Pro $20/month for more depth)
- A research question in mind: vendor comparison, market size, regulatory context, or technology overview
- Time needed: 5 minutes to set up; immediate research value
- Cost: Free / Pro $20/month
How-To Guide: Use Perplexity for Vendor and Market Research
Step 1: Create your account
- Go to perplexity.ai
- Click Sign Up (top right) — sign in with Google or create an account
- No setup or configuration needed — you're ready to search immediately
What you should see: The Perplexity search interface with a large search/chat box in the center.