Perplexity Adds Instant Results for Weather, Currency, and Math Queries

Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, has introduced new features to display instant results for factual queries, such as weather, time, currency conversion, and simple math, directly through interactive cards. This update aims to keep users from needing to turn to other search engines like Google for quick answers.

Enhanced Visual Display

Previously, Perplexity could fetch and display this data descriptively. Now, the platform has added visual elements to make these results more prominent and accessible. On X, CEO Aravind Srinivas announced that these basic queries should now be faster on the search engine.

Competing with Google's Cards

Srinivas acknowledged last year that Google handles basic queries well and that Perplexity had improvements to make. While Google displays card-based information for sports scores, movie details, and more, Perplexity is moving towards providing similar direct results without linking to external sources.

To enhance search results like weather and currency conversions, Perplexity partnered with Tako, an AI search engine for visualizing information, to provide data such as stock prices.

Media Controversy and Response

Perplexity faced media criticism for showing original reporting from sources like Forbes without proper attribution. This issue was highlighted when Forbes executive editor John Paczkowski pointed out the use of paywalled content in Perplexity’s Pages feature and AI-generated podcasts.

Critics argue that without proper credits and link-back traffic, AI-powered search engines could harm the business of traditional media outlets.

Revenue-Sharing Initiatives

To address these concerns, Perplexity's chief business officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, mentioned that the company is exploring revenue-sharing deals with publications. These agreements would allow publishers to earn recurring income, mitigating the impact of AI-generated content on their business models.