vs
Perplexity vs Google AI Mode
Perplexity scores higher overall (8.8 vs 8.6), but the right pick depends on what you need.
Choose Perplexity if…
Getting a quick, sourced answer you can check claim by claim
8.8/10★★★★★Full review →Choose Google AI Mode if…
Anyone who wants AI answers without leaving Google or paying
8.6/10★★★★★Full review →Side by side
| Perplexity | Google AI Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.8/10 | 8.6/10 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 7 | #2 of 7 |
| Price | Freemium · from $20/month | Freemium · from £4.49/month |
| Free version | Unlimited basic searches and about 5 Pro searches a day | AI Mode is free in Google Search |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Made by | Perplexity AI | |
| Answer quality | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Ease of use | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Features | 8.5 | 8 |
| Value for money | 8.5 | 9.5 |
| Platforms | 9 | 9 |
Perplexity: what the AI does
- Cited answers from live web results
- Pro Search for harder questions
- Research mode for multi-step reports
- Choice of GPT, Claude and Gemini models on Pro
- Search with uploaded photos and files
- Numbered inline citations are the easiest to audit
- Basic search works without signing in
- One Pro plan covers several frontier models
- Highly rated iPhone and Android apps
- Free tier's Auto mode doesn't say which model answered
- Citations can sound confident without fully backing the claim
- Signed-out searches disappear after 14 days
Google AI Mode: what the AI does
- Conversational answers with links to sources
- Search with text, voice, photos, files or video
- Search Live spoken conversations
- Deep Search in selected countries
- Personal Intelligence using Gmail and Google Photos
- Interactive visuals and simulations
- Free, with no new app or sign-up
- Google's huge index and local, shopping and travel data
- Best multimodal search: photo, voice and live video
- More inline links to sources since October 2026
- Answer quality is uneven on hard or niche questions
- Personalisation means sharing more data with Google
- Google labels AI Mode experimental and warns it can make mistakes