Anyone looking for a robust and flexible AI app for Windows may want to check out the latest offering from the team at Perplexity. Launched this week, the new Perplexity Windows app provides all the familiar features of the website. But it also lets you speak your request instead of having to type it at the prompt.
Also: The best AI chatbots
With so many AI bots bouncing around, knowing which one to use and why can be challenging. I typically turn to ChatGPT, Copilot, or Google Gemini for different reasons and requests. But Perplexity is another AI I’ve grown to like.
Why use Perplexity over other AIs?
Perplexity offers different modes, models, and sources that you can choose to direct your query. Don’t want to fiddle with these settings? Just keep them at their defaults. Here, Perplexity can be as simple or as complex as you want.
I also appreciate the way Perplexity reveals the sources for its responses. Just select a particular source, and you’ll be directed to the associated web page. Depending on your question, the AI may also deliver academic citations and references, so it’s ideal for scholarly or educational research.
Also: I tried Perplexity’s assistant, and only one thing stops it from being my default phone AI
Further, Perplexity offers a Discover page where you can check out the latest news and information about your favorite topics, such as technology and science, arts and culture, entertainment, finance, and sports. You’re also able to create collaborative spaces through which you can organize your AI-generated research by topic and even invite other people to discuss the information with you.
Otherwise, Perplexity offers most of the usual useful options for an AI. You can use Perplexity with a free account, but a $20-per-month Pro version is available with unlimited file uploads, image generation, advanced AI models, and other perks.
How to get and use the Perplexity Windows app
And all of these features are accessible in the new Windows app. To download it, head to the Perplexity AI website. Select the notice that says “Introducing our Windows app” and click the button for “Download on Windows.” Then just run the downloaded setup file, and the app will automatically open.
You can use Perplexity without an account, but you’ll get more out of it if you sign up for one. In the Windows app, click the Expand key at the bottom of the left sidebar. From there, you can sign up for a new account or sign in with an existing one.
After you sign in, you can access the different AI modes and models. Click the first drop-down menu at the prompt to choose among Auto, Pro, Reasoning, and Deep Research. Set it to Auto, and Perplexity will choose the appropriate mode based on your query.
Otherwise, Pro provides more detailed answers, while Reasoning is best for more complex questions that require greater analysis. Deep Research will run a web search on your behalf and provide a detailed report, similar to the Deep Research option offered by ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other AIs.
Also: Is Perplexity’s Sonar really more ‘factual’ than its AI rivals? See for yourself
At the next drop-down menu, subscribers of the Pro version can choose a specific AI model. Sonar is the default, but you can take your pick among GPT-4.5, GPT-4o, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Gemini 2.0 Flash, and Grok-2. For most queries, you’ll probably want to leave it at Sonar. But you can always experiment by submitting the same request to various models and see if and how the responses differ.
And there’s more. Click the globe icon to set the type of sources you want Perplexity to check to answer your questions. By default, the AI will search the web in general. But you can also add academic sources to consult scholarly documents and research papers, or Social to check out social media discussions. Again, you may want to experiment by sending the same query using different sources.
When you’re ready to submit your request, type it at the prompt or select the microphone icon to speak it. Perplexity may take longer than you expect to deliver its response. But that’s because it’s checking a variety of sources to provide the best answer.
You can also submit a file for analysis. Click the paperclip icon, and you’re able to upload a variety of file types, including PDFs, text files, HTML files, CSV files, images, Microsoft Office files, and more.
You can always launch the app from the Windows Start menu or All Apps screen. But Perplexity also offers a shortcut to trigger it. Just press Ctrl+I, and the app pops up. The only problem here is that Ctrl+I is a key already used to italicize text in Windows. Currently, there’s no way to change the shortcut, but hopefully Perplexity will add that capability in a future version.
Also: How to install Perplexity AI’s app on Linux (I found an easier way)
The new Windows app joins Perplexity’s apps for the Mac, iOS, and Android, so you can now use it on any PC and mobile device. Though you may be accustomed to ChatGPT and other major AI services, Perplexity is certainly worth trying, and the new Windows app is a quick and easy way to give it a spin.
