Perplexity, the AI-powered search engine backed by Jeff Bezos, Tobi Lütke, and other notable investors, debuted a new shopping feature for its paid customers in the US that offers shopping recommendations as well as the ability to place an order without going to a retailer's website.
“Buy with Pro” enables users to ask questions or post requests like “Find the best hiking shoes for a long uphill hike” or “Which sunscreen with SPF 50 or higher offers moisturizing properties?” to begin their shopping journey.
After entering a shopping search query or uploading a photo of an item, the tool searches the web and presents the user with visual cards that have details of the product, pricing, seller info, a short description, and the pros and cons of the item. The user can then tap on the card to view more information including reviews and key features.
From there, the user can purchase the item with one click using their saved payment info and shipping address, which Perplexity uses to calculate taxes. This is powered by integrations with sellers' websites, including those on Shopify, Amazon, Best Buy, and other major retailers.
As an additional perk, Perplexity is offering free shipping on all Buy with Pro orders, but it didn't mention how long that promo would last.
The company has been testing Buy with Pro for six weeks with around 1,000 users. The service is included in Perplexity's Professional plan, which is priced at $20/month or $200/year.
Perplexity also launched a merchant program.
The company says that merchants who enroll in the program will have a better chance of being a recommended product because they'll have more complete information in its index.
As an added bonus, merchants will be granted free API access to power search on their own websites using Perplexity's large language models and search algorithms.
Currently Perplexity is not taking a cut from user purchases. The company also clarified that its new shopping feature is separate from its ads product, which I reported on last week (story #6). Although I imagine ads will be introduced to the shopping experience at some point.