How To Use Perplexity AI For Research - Terrifyingly SMART!

The video script introduces Perplexity AI, a powerful tool for academic research. It offers a user-friendly interface with a 'Co-pilot' feature that asks clarifying questions to refine search results. The tool excels in finding recent academic papers, as demonstrated by the user's search for review papers on transparent electrodes. Perplexity AI also impresses with its ability to analyze and interpret images, helping users understand complex schematics and create narratives from figures in research papers. The platform provides settings to customize the AI model and image generation preferences, ensuring user control over data usage. It also includes a unique feature to summarize key points from uploaded papers, saving researchers time and effort. The script concludes by highlighting the tool's ability to enhance research efficiency and its potential to revolutionize academic study.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The Perplexity AI platform is designed to be user-friendly and straightforward, with a simple layout that invites users to 'Ask Anything' and explore various topics of interest.
• 🤖 The Co-Pilot feature is a significant part of the platform, acting as a companion that not only understands user intent but also asks clarifying questions to ensure the most accurate responses.
• 📈 For Pro users, Perplexity offers up to 600 Co-Pilot searches a day, which is a substantial advantage for conducting extensive research or seeking detailed information.
• 🔍 The Focus feature allows users to narrow down their search to specific areas of interest, such as academic research, writing, or even browsing through social media platforms like Reddit.
• 🔗 Perplexity provides well-formatted answers with the option to click through to the source, making it easy for users to verify and explore the information further.
• 📚 When searching for academic papers, Perplexity can refine the search to focus only on academic sources, providing users with more relevant and credible results.
• 📈 The platform's ability to handle follow-up questions and refine searches based on user feedback is impressive, ensuring that users can get the exact information they need.
• 🖼️ Perplexity's image analysis capabilities are powerful, allowing it to interpret and explain complex schematics and images from research papers with remarkable accuracy.
• 📝 The platform can assist in creating a narrative from figures in a research paper, helping users to structure their work and present a coherent story to readers.
• 📑 For those overwhelmed by the volume of reading in research, Perplexity can summarize key points from a paper, saving users time and effort.
• 🔄 Users have control over whether the images and documents they upload are used for training the AI model, providing a level of privacy and control that is appreciated.
• 🔎 The platform can even find and suggest related multimedia content, such as YouTube videos, adding another layer of utility for users looking to explore a topic in depth.

Q & A

What is the first step a user should take when using Perplexity AI for academic research?

The first step is to ask a question related to the research topic. Perplexity AI's Co-Pilot feature will then assist by asking clarifying questions to ensure the user gets the most relevant and accurate information.

How does the Co-Pilot feature in Perplexity AI help users?

Co-Pilot acts as a companion that not only understands the user's query but also asks clarifying questions to refine the search and ensure the user receives the perfect answer every time.

What are the benefits of being on the Pro version of Perplexity AI?

On the Pro version, users get access to 600 Co-Pilot searches a day, as opposed to the free version which offers five. Additionally, Pro users can choose between different AI models and settings for a more customized experience.

How can users narrow down their search to academic sources only in Perplexity AI?

Users can click on the 'Focus' option and select 'Academic' to limit their search to academic sources, which is particularly useful for research purposes.

What is the process of finding recent papers on a specific topic using Perplexity AI?

After asking a question, Co-Pilot will ask for clarification on the field of interest. Once specified, it searches the web and provides a list of sources. If the results are not recent enough, the user can ask a follow-up question to refine the search to more recent papers.

How does Perplexity AI handle image analysis?

Perplexity AI can analyze and interpret images, such as schematics from a paper, by identifying components, processes, and even materials involved. It can also help create a narrative from a set of figures for a paper or presentation.

What settings can users adjust in Perplexity AI to control their data privacy?

Users can adjust settings to turn off the use of uploaded data for training the model, ensuring their data remains private and is not used to improve the AI's performance.

How does Perplexity AI assist with summarizing lengthy academic papers?

By uploading a paper as a PDF and asking for a summary, Perplexity AI can read through the document and provide a detailed summary of the key points, saving the user time and effort.

What additional feature does Perplexity AI offer for enhancing the research experience?

Perplexity AI can find and suggest related multimedia content, such as YouTube videos from collaborators or experts in the field, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the research topic.

How can Perplexity AI help in creating a logical flow for a research paper?

By analyzing the figures and content of a draft paper, Perplexity AI can suggest a coherent story and order, guiding the reader through the development, characterization, and evaluation of the research subject.

What is the advantage of using multiple AI models in Perplexity AI?

With Pro access, users can switch between different AI models like Default, Experimental, GP4, and Claude. This allows for a variety of perspectives and approaches to finding information, enhancing the research process.

How does Perplexity AI's Vision feature assist users?

The Vision feature allows users to upload images or diagrams for explanation. It can interpret complex schematics and even suggest directions for future research based on the visual content provided.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Exploring Perplexity's Interface and Co-Pilot Feature

The speaker introduces the Perplexity platform, noting its simple layout and the presence of a 'Co-Pilot' feature that assists users by asking clarifying questions to refine search results. The platform offers various focus areas, including academic research, writing, and social media platforms like Reddit. The user demonstrates how to use the platform for academic research, including how to ask for recent review papers in specific fields and how to refine searches for more accurate results. The speaker also teases upcoming topics about attachments and their impressive capabilities.

05:00

📈 Leveraging Perplexity for Research and Image Analysis

The paragraph discusses the powerful features of Perplexity for research purposes. It highlights the ability to ask for recent papers and receive up-to-date results, the customization options available in settings, including the choice of AI models and data privacy settings. The speaker is particularly impressed with the platform's image analysis capabilities, demonstrating how it can interpret and explain complex schematics from uploaded images. Additionally, Perplexity can help create a narrative from figures in a draft paper, suggesting a logical flow for a research paper.

10:03

📚 Summarizing Research Papers and Discovering Collaborators

This section covers how Perplexity can be used to summarize research papers, saving the user time and effort. The speaker uploads a PDF of a paper and requests a summary of key points. The platform not only reads the document but also searches the web to provide a detailed answer. The speaker also appreciates the ability to ask follow-up questions about the paper's focus, limitations, and next steps. Furthermore, the platform surprises the user by finding a YouTube video of a past collaborator, showcasing its ability to connect related information.

Keywords

Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is an advanced AI tool designed to assist with research and academic inquiries. It is characterized by its user-friendly interface and powerful search capabilities. In the video, it is used to find and summarize academic papers, generate narratives from figures in a research paper, and even interpret images. It is portrayed as a valuable tool for researchers to streamline their work and gain insights from complex data.

Co-Pilot

Co-Pilot is a feature within Perplexity AI that acts as an interactive assistant. It engages users by asking clarifying questions to refine search queries and ensure the accuracy of the information provided. In the context of the video, Co-Pilot helps the user narrow down their research focus and provides tailored responses to their specific needs, enhancing the overall research experience.

Focus

Focus is a setting within Perplexity AI that allows users to specify the areas of interest for their searches. For instance, a user can choose 'academic' to tailor the search results to scholarly articles. In the video, the speaker uses the Focus feature to concentrate on academic research, which is crucial for their PhD work and finding relevant literature.

Academic Research

Academic research refers to the systematic investigation and study of a particular subject or field to establish facts and draw conclusions. In the video, the speaker is conducting research for their PhD and utilizes Perplexity AI to find review papers, understand complex images, and create narratives from figures, which are all integral parts of academic research.

Transparent Electrodes

Transparent electrodes are a specific type of conductive material that is used in various applications, such as organic optoelectronic devices. The video's speaker is seeking review papers on this topic to kickstart their PhD research. Perplexity AI helps in locating relevant and recent academic papers on transparent electrodes.

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are materials with properties that are defined by their extremely small scale, typically on the nanometer scale. In the video, the speaker is interested in recent papers on nanomaterials for transparent electrodes to impress their supervisor. Perplexity AI assists in finding the most recent and relevant papers on this subject.

Image Interpretation

Image interpretation in the context of the video refers to the AI's ability to analyze and explain complex images, such as schematics from a scientific paper. Perplexity AI demonstrates this by deciphering a schematic representation of a process for fabricating a composite material, highlighting its advanced understanding and analytical capabilities.

Story Creation

Story creation with Perplexity AI involves the AI generating a coherent narrative from a series of figures or images. This feature is particularly useful for researchers who need to create a logical flow in their papers or presentations. The video demonstrates how Perplexity AI can construct a narrative around the development and evaluation of composite materials.

Data Privacy

Data privacy is the ability of users to have control over their personal data, ensuring it is not used without their consent. In the video, the speaker appreciates that Perplexity AI allows users to opt out of having their uploaded content used for training the AI model, which is a significant aspect of data privacy and user control.

AI Models

AI models refer to the different algorithms or neural network architectures that AI systems use to process and learn from data. The video mentions that with a Pro subscription to Perplexity AI, users have access to multiple AI models, such as the default, experimental, and gp4 models, providing a range of options for different types of tasks.

PDF Summarization

PDF summarization is the process of condensing a lengthy document, such as a research paper, into a shorter, more digestible summary. In the video, the speaker uses Perplexity AI to summarize key points from an academic paper, saving time and effort that would otherwise be spent reading the entire document.

Highlights

Perplexity AI is a user-friendly platform designed for academic research with a simple layout and the ability to ask any question.

Co-pilot feature assists users by asking clarifying questions to ensure the most accurate answers.

Pro users have access to 600 co-pilot searches a day, while standard users get five.

Focus feature allows users to select areas of interest, such as academic research, writing, and more.

Perplexity AI can search the web and provide a list of sources, formatted in a numbered list with clickable references.

Users can refine their searches to find more recent papers by providing follow-up instructions.

Settings allow users to control data usage and choose between different AI models for various tasks.

Perplexity AI's image generation capabilities are powerful, enabling users to understand complex images and create narratives from figures.

Users can upload images and ask Perplexity AI to create a coherent story from them, which is useful for academic paper writing.

Perplexity AI can summarize key points from a paper, saving users time and effort.

Users have the option to exclude uploaded images from the training model if they wish.

Perplexity AI can identify and provide additional information about paper collaborators, such as their current positions.

The platform offers a range of models, including the latest from OpenAI, for Pro users to access.

Pro users also benefit from features like Discord Pro support and advanced settings.

Perplexity AI's Vision feature can interpret and explain complex schematics and diagrams from images.

The platform can help researchers understand and create a logical flow for their papers, guiding readers through the development and evaluation of materials.

Users can ask for future research directions and conclusions based on the information provided in a paper.

Perplexity AI can find and provide additional resources, such as related YouTube videos, to enhance understanding and context.