Perplexity AI Is Now a Shopping Assistant

Perplexity is rolling out a new “Buy with Pro” feature that allows its Pro subscribers paying $20 per month to complete purchases within its AI-powered search engine.

When searching for products on Perplexity, users will now see recommendations in the form of product cards. Some of these cards will contain the new “Buy with Pro” button, which Pro subscribers can use to check out using the saved shipping and billing details. All orders placed through the new button will come with free shipping.

However, there are some limitations. At launch, “Buy with Pro” is exclusive to US users and only supports select products from select merchants. If a product doesn’t show a “Buy with Pro” link, Perplexity will redirect the user to the merchant’s website for checkout instead. 

Perplexity is also rolling out “Snap to Shop,” which functions like Google Lens or Apple’s visual intelligence. You take a photo of an item, upload it to the AI search engine, and can find similar products available for sale online. Perplexity’s AI will also provide product comparisons.

The AI startup, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, won’t earn any commissions from the sales, company spokesperson Sara Platnick confirmed to The Verge. The product recommendations aren’t sponsored, either. “They’re unbiased recommendations tailored to your search by our AI,” Perplexity says.

These shopping experiences are powered by various integrations including Shopify, which gives the AI product information from Shopify-powered businesses that take US-based customers. While these tools are initially limited to US users, Perplexity has promised to expand them to other markets in the future.

Perplexity has also launched the Perplexity Merchant program. This initiative allows merchants to share their product details for free on the platform, increasing the AI’s product catalog and potentially increase sales.

AI has been increasingly infused into the world of e-commerce in recent years. Amazon has its chatbot Rufus, along with AI-powered Amazon listings. Ebay also lets you use its built-in AI to generate product descriptions.

But AI doesn’t always get it right. It’s been used to “shop” for items in images—including in those depicting tragedies and suicide victims. And Rufus has been criticized by many users for not offering appropriate or accurate questions or descriptions, having a user interface that blocks important info, and for regurgitating user reviews. AI can certainly make online selling and shopping faster—but it may not always be better.