Perplexity Launches Sonar API for Real-Time AI Search

On Tuesday, AI startup Perplexity unveiled Sonar, an API service designed for enterprises and developers to embed its advanced generative AI search capabilities into their own platforms.

Advancing AI Search with Sonar

Unlike traditional generative AI tools that rely solely on training data, Sonar connects to the internet in real time, providing responses informed by trusted, up-to-date sources. According to Perplexity, this approach enhances factual accuracy and authority in its answers.

Sonar is available in two tiers:

• Sonar (Base Version): A cost-effective, lightweight option optimized for speed and affordability.

• Sonar Pro: A premium version designed for complex queries, delivering more detailed answers and twice as many citations as the base version.

Developers can also customize the sources from which Sonar pulls information, allowing for tailored, reliable responses suited to specific use cases.

Integration and Market Impact

With the launch of the Sonar API, Perplexity’s AI search engine extends beyond its app and website, offering enterprises new ways to leverage its capabilities. For example:

Zoom: Already utilizing Sonar to power an AI assistant for video conferencing, enabling real-time, citation-supported answers directly within the chat interface.

Sonar’s API also introduces a new revenue stream for Perplexity, which currently offers a subscription-based service for unlimited AI search access. The company claims Sonar is the most affordable AI search API on the market, an attractive proposition as competitors have been lowering API prices over the past year.

Pricing Breakdown

Perplexity’s transparent pricing structure includes:

Sonar Base:

• $5 per 1,000 searches.

• $1 for every 750,000 input words (~1 million input tokens).

• $1 for every 750,000 output words (~1 million output tokens).

Sonar Pro:

$5 per 1,000 searches.

$3 for every 750,000 input words.

$15 for every 750,000 output words.

While Sonar Pro offers enhanced capabilities, such as handling multiple searches per prompt query and achieving superior factual accuracy, its pricing is more variable.

Benchmark Success and Funding

Perplexity claims that Sonar Pro outperformed competing models from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic on the SimpleQA benchmark, which evaluates factual correctness in AI chatbot answers.

In December, Perplexity raised $500 million in a funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners, achieving a valuation of $9 billion. This strong financial backing positions the company to further innovate in the AI search market.

What This Means

The launch of Sonar highlights the increasing demand for customizable, real-time AI search tools that deliver both accuracy and affordability. Perplexity’s competitive pricing and performance benchmarks position it as a strong contender in a crowded field, while its partnerships, such as with Zoom, demonstrate real-world applications for its technology.

As the AI landscape evolves, APIs like Sonar are poised to play a critical role in integrating generative AI into diverse business environments, offering new opportunities for growth and innovation.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.