Perplexity launches AI Commerce solution

 

Perplexity has announced the launch of its new feature, Shop with Perplexity. The company promises its customers an exceptional shopping experience assisted by AI. But what is Perplexity and how does AI-assisted shopping work?

 

 

What is Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI search engine with headquarters in the United States. Founded in 2022, Perplexity promises real-time answers from reliable sources. Instead of a collection of links to relevant content (as done by Google & Co.), Perplexity users can expect comprehensive summaries of whatever issue they’re interested in.

 

Rather than keyword-based searches, Perplexity works with language models like Claude 3 and GPT 4 Omni to understand the context of a query and deliver the best-fitting answers.

 

While Perplexity is free to use, the Pro premium subscription package offers additional perks for a monthly $20 fee like file analysis, API access, a dedicated Discord channel and advanced customer support.

 

 

Screenshot of perplexity.ai displaying the homepage of Perplexity

 

 

When testing the tool, we asked a highly relevant question: What is the role of AI in e-Commerce. Perplexity delivered a roughly 300-word answer, with a two-line summary upfront and a more detailed analysis about the key applications and benefits of AI in e-Commerce, organised into ten neat bullet points.

 

Perplexity used eight sources for its analysis, listing them all upfront. In addition, each bullet point of information contains a footnote referring to the source(s) where the tool gathered it from.

 

Users have the option to ask a follow-up question from the software, and Perplexity also provides a list of related topics at the bottom of its answer.

 

Moreover, users can expand their search to include images and videos, and even have the option to generate images in the topic.

 

 

Screenshot of perplexity.ai displaying the answer to a random question

 

 

The difference between Perplexity and ChatGPT

While both are powered by AI, Perplexity and the wider-known ChatGPT platform position themselves slightly differently. ChatGPT is a general purpose chatbot with high customisation abilities for environments benefitting from the usage of a chatbot. In addition, ChatGPT can also generate web content and answer general queries.

 

In contrast, Perplexity aims to deliver in-depth and accurate information to highly specialised questions. This tool is not easily customised for specific purposes and positions itself as an alternative to traditional search engines like Google.

 

And now, with its new shopping features, it seems that Perplexity is entering the domain of Amazon as well.

 

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Shopping with Perplexity

With the tagline “Shop without limits”, Perplexity AI aims to assist its users to a seamless shopping experience.

 

 

Screenshot of perplexity.ai/shopping displaying the homepage of Shop with Perplexity

 

 

Currently only available to US-based users, Shop with Perplexity enables shoppers to research, compare and even buy products without ever leaving the platform.

 

In contrast to a traditional marketplace, Perplexity attracts users by offering personalised choices based on their queries. As the AI learns the users’ preferences, it’s able to suggest products that best fit their actual needs.

 

| Perplexity attracts users by offering personalised choices based on their queries

 

Perplexity offers text and image based product searches, summarises product comparisons, highlights relevant features, customer reviews and any other information the actual shopper may deem important. All this is displayed on neat product cards that make it easier for users to digest relevant information.

 

Interestingly, Perplexity doesn’t feature product ads or sponsored listings. Instead, all search results presented to users are based on the algorithm and on information merchants give to the platform. The more detailed the information, the better your chances to be featured amongst the eventual search results. To this end, Perplexity has launched a Merchant Programme that allows brands and sellers to upload information, access Perplexity’s API and offer various payment integrations.

 

 

Screenshot of perplexity.ai/shopping displaying a sample product search

 

 

Buy with Pro is an elevated feature offering US-based Pro users one-click buys, free shipping and a native checkout process that provides an even faster and perfectly seamless shopping experience.

 

However, if Buy with Pro is not available for a product, shoppers can count on Perplexity’s Shopify and other industry-wide integrations that lead users to the merchant’s webshop and purchase the chosen product from there.

 

Although it’s still early days, we can already establish that Perplexity views shopping holistically. It goes beyond simple, isolated product searches and regards commerce as a means to find the best items to integrate into the user’s life (kind of like Walmart’s AI assistant).

 

| Perplexity views shopping holistically

 

We can’t know for sure what shoppers will make of the opportunity, but Perplexity, and AI-assisted shopping in general certainly has the power to cause established e-Commerce actors a few surprises.

 

 

AI commerce and its implication for your brand’s IP rights

While its overall effects on the industry are still unclear, online brand protection experts are already examining how AI-assisted shopping will affect the protection of brands’ IP rights.

 

Perplexity’s Terms of Service include a section (6.5: Notice of Infringement – DMCA (Copyright) Policy) that deals with protecting IP rights against infringement. Users who come upon potentially IP infringing content should notify the platform by email or regular mail (!). Perplexity promises to investigate the matter and terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly post IP infringing content.

 

 

Advantages of AI commerce for your IP rights

The power of AI may help increase the speed of product authentication processes. This could contribute to a better and faster recognition of IP infringing product listings, reducing the amount of time the public is exposed to these fraudulent listings.

 

Thanks to the above, the overall effectiveness of brand monitoring may be increased when using AI tools.

 

On a more general note, brands may find AI-based personalised recommendations helpful to widen their audience and acquire new customers.

 

Similarly, the highly organised product cards can contribute to a sleek, professional online appearance which serves the double purpose of strengthening your reputation and allowing your customers to better recognise dubious listings.

 

Find out how to improve your products’ online appearance!

 

 

Dangers of AI commerce for your IP rights

Unfortunately, the advantages of AI are just as available to fraudsters as to honest brands.

 

This means that scammers who know how to use AI could imitate your brand so effectively that it may get even harder for consumers to tell the difference between your original products and counterfeits. Also, with AI tools at their disposal, fraudsters can create even more professional content and product listings in general.

 

| Scammers who know how to use AI could imitate your brand effectively

 

Once Perplexity finds the fake listing and deems it relevant, its convincing display may make it easier for consumers to fall into the fraudsters’ trap and purchase the fake.

 

Since Perplexity doesn’t feature your own text but summarises it, your control over your own product listing diminishes. Your carefully crafted message could get simply “lost in translation,” not to mention the issue of them accessing and using your intellectual property in their own environment. On top of that, the software may not even include an attribution to your content, which is basically nothing else but copyright infringement.

 

Perplexity has already faced accusations of neglect and IP infringement when the company featured the text of an article that was placed behind a paywall. Moreover, the software didn’t even link to the source but labeled the text as the transcript of an AI-generated podcast.

 

US-based newspapers Wall Street Journal and New York Post have recently filed a lawsuit against Perplexity over IP infringements. Add to this the fact that due to its novelty, this area is not yet completely regulated by law, which could cause confusion and a legal grey zone.

 

Although the company promises its algorithm is impartial, how can we be sure that it doesn’t favour one brand over another? Whether such an act is intentional or completely accidental, an unseen bias against your brand can cause you severe damage in online commerce.

 

Finally, don’t forget that AI-assisted commerce may require you to rethink your brand’s positioning and online marketing strategies. This could pose a considerable additional burden on your budget and your team.

 

 

Conclusion

Shop with Perplexity and AI-assisted e-Commerce in general is a new area for brands and online brand protection experts alike. We at globaleyez take pride in our proactive approach and closely monitor new developments in our industry to prepare our clients for future challenges.

 

Contact us if you’d like to know more about protecting your IP rights in the age of AI!