Key takeaways Perplexity launches Buy With Pro, an AI-powered shopping assistant that enables users to research and purchase products directly within its platform. The feature is currently available t...
Perplexity has introduced an AI-powered shopping assistant that allows users to research and buy products without leaving its platform, marking the company's entry into the competitive e-commerce search market dominated by Google and Amazon.
The feature, called Buy With Pro, launched on November 18, 2024, and is currently available to Perplexity Pro subscribers in the United States.
The company processes over 100 million search queries per week and aims to transform how users discover and purchase products online.
Buy With Pro enables users to complete purchases directly within Perplexity's website or mobile app for select products from participating merchants.
The system stores shipping and billing information securely, allowing for one-click checkout.
As an incentive for early adoption, Perplexity is offering free shipping on all purchases made through the feature.
The platform also includes Snap to Shop, a visual search tool that lets users take photos of products to find similar items for purchase.
This functionality mirrors capabilities offered by Google Lens and Pinterest, allowing product discovery without detailed descriptions or product names.
When users ask shopping-related questions, Perplexity displays AI-generated product cards with relevant items, pricing, seller information, and key features.
The company emphasized that these recommendations are unbiased and not sponsored.
In its blog post, Perplexity stated: "When you ask Perplexity a shopping question, you'll still get the precise, objective answers you expect, plus easy-to-read product cards showing the most relevant items, along with key details presented in a simple, visual format. These cards aren't sponsored—they're unbiased recommendations, tailored to your search by our AI."
However, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas acknowledged uncertainty about how the AI ranking system works.
In an interview with Fortune on November 18, Srinivas said: "All these things are yet to be fully understood, to be very honest with you, in terms of how the ranking works [and why] the AI is preferring to rank one over the other.
Is it the number of reviews? Is it the ratings exactly, and where the rankings are coming from—like what people are saying on different platforms about their product? There's a lot of distillation and condensing going on here."
Alongside the shopping feature, Perplexity launched a free merchant program designed to help large retailers share product specifications with the platform.
Retailers who join the program gain increased visibility in search results, access to one-click checkout integration, free API access for building custom search experiences, and analytics dashboards showing shopping trends.
The shopping experience is powered by integrations with platforms, including Shopify, which provides Perplexity access to product catalogs from Shopify merchants shipping to the U.S. Shopify works with major brands such as Hanes, On, and Victoria's Secret.
Perplexity emphasized that the merchant program is separate from its advertising products.
The company confirmed it will not take affiliate commissions on purchases made through the platform.
The launch positions Perplexity to compete with established e-commerce giants and other AI startups developing shopping tools.
Amazon introduced its AI assistant Rufus earlier in 2024, with the company reporting that millions of customers used it during Prime Day sales in July.
Google enhanced its Shopping tab with AI capabilities in October 2024 to improve search results.
Several AI-focused startups, including Daydream, Deft, and Remark, have also raised venture capital funding to build AI-powered shopping search platforms.
Perplexity has experienced rapid growth and funding activity throughout 2024.
The company began the year with a valuation of approximately $520 million.
In November 2024, it was reportedly finalizing a $500 million funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners that would triple its valuation to $9 billion.
The shopping assistant launch comes as Perplexity continues to expand its capabilities beyond traditional search.
The company previously introduced finance-related features in October 2024, including real-time stock quotes and company earnings data.
Founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, Perplexity operates on a freemium model with paid Pro subscriptions costing $20 per month.
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