Are you an academic researcher who needs to find relevant information quickly and reliably? If so, the Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine for academic research may be the perfect tool for you.
The tool lets you discover related information and answer questions about research topics. This guide will help you use this AI tool in the most effective way. Moreover, I will give you a short description of the Perplexity Chrome extension.
At the very outset, I will demonstrate how to ask questions, get answers, and cite sources using this revolutionary AI tool. Besides, you will learn how to use the Perplexity AI Chrome extension to access the web application anywhere on the web.
Moreover, the state-of-the-art web application enables you to do a literature review efficiently. This tool makes the literature review faster and easier.
In a previous post, I gave a detailed explanation of how to explore paper with explanation, summary and real-time answers.
How to Use the Perplexity AI Search Engine Tool for Academic Research
The Perplexity AI is an innovative search engine designed to simplify the process of finding academic research materials.
In this section, I will show you how to use this AI-powered search engine for academic research with step-by-step guide:
You can use either of these two methods to access the AI-driven tool:
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- Access the Perplexity website
- Setup the Perplexity Chrome Extension
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to use the AI-driven tool as a search engine for academic purpose:
Method #1 : Access the Perplexity AI Website for Academic Research
Step #1 : Accessing Perplexity AI
All you need to do is visit the Perplexity AI’s website (www.perplexityai.com) to get started.
A chat box will appear for you to enter your queries:
Step #2 : Sign Up or Log In
If you are a first-time user, sign up for a Perplexity AI account. Using the account credentials you can access all the features. Once you have created an account, you can start asking your research related questions.
You can use simple English or ChatGPT style to ask the questions, the AI tool returns the relevant results. The search results are roughly similar for both keywords like google and natural language queries like ChatGPT.
Step #3: Define Your Research Query
In order to get the search results, you just type your query in the chat box and press enter.
For example, if you want to know “The Role of Blockchain Technology in Advancing Open Educational Resources” just type the following:
Here, you will see the results from the Perplexity for your query below, as well as some related works on the same topic:
Below are some related works that are relevant to our query:
To see the sources of the information, click on the box below the result. Once you click, you will see the following pop-up window:
The results I gave you were extracted from these papers by the handy AI based tool. This robust AI tool also provides summaries of each result, making it easy to quickly scan the results and find the information you need.
The above mentioned papers that I found are very relevant to my query. However, the response is still related to the context of what I asked originally.
To obtain more relevant results, you can also specify additional sources using the “+” sign for your query.
If you want more information or clarification, the chat box below allows you to type follow-up questions for more details:
You just repeat the steps 1 to 3 until you have sufficient and relevant information to answer your research query.
Method #2: Setup the Perplexity Chrome Extension for Academic Research
You can use the Perplexity Chrome extension by installing it from the Chrome Web Store.
It is a blend of ChatGPT and Google. When you have a question, ask Perplexity, and it will search the internet and write you a quick answer with cited sources.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Perplexity AI with the Chrome extension for academic research.
Step #1: Install the Perplexity AI Chrome Extension
All you need to do is install the Chrome extension. You can find the extension in the Chrome Web Store.
Here, you need to search for “Perplexity AI tool” in the Chrome Web Store to locate it.
Now, click on the “Add to Chrome” button and the “Add extension” button to confirm.
Once you click, the Perplexity AI tool extension will be installed in your Chrome browser.
To use the extension, click on the Perplexity icon in the top right corner of your browser.
Step #2: Use Perplexity AI Search Engine to Ask Questions
Once you have installed the Perplexity AI Chrome plugin, you can start using it to ask questions. Click on the Perplexity AI icon in your browser toolbar to open the extension.
You can then type the question in the search bar and press enter. The AI driven search engine searches the internet and provides you with a quick answer with cited sources.
The website you are viewing can be queried with specific questions using the plugin for Chrome.
The AI Search Engine with Copilot for Academic Research
The Perplexity AI also offers a collaborative AI search with Copilot. To use this feature, click on the Perplexity AI icon in your browser toolbar and then click on the “Collaborate with Copilot” button.
You can then ask Copilot a question, and it will search the internet and provide you with a quick answer with references.
The AI-driven also offers a Pro version with GPT-4. You can upgrade to the Pro version, which offers more features.
The wait is over, you can now download Perplexity for your Android and iPhone device.
This AI driven robust tool enables you to learn and search for papers on a topic simultaneously.
I listed some similar AI tools for academic research in my previous post on “The Best 8 AI-Powered Tools for Literature Review”.
Wrap-Up
The Perplexity AI tool is a powerful tool that can help you find relevant information on any topic quickly and accurately. The cutting-edge tool lets you generate different types of content that you may need for your academic purposes.
However, you need to be aware of the sources that the AI tool uses as references and cite them properly. The AI Tool is not a substitute for your own critical thinking and analysis skills but rather a complement that can enhance your research process.
Besides, you can use the Chrome plugin to ask contextual questions about the website you are visiting. This tool helps you perform a literature review effectively.
I hope this blog post has given you an overview of what Perplexity AI tool is and how to use it as a search engine for academic purposes.
