---
id: "entity-perplexity-d92"
type: "entity"
entityType: "tool"
canonicalName: "Perplexity"
aliases: ["Perplexity AI", "perplexity.ai"]
canonicalUrl: "perplexity.ai"
source_timestamps: ["¶3", "¶4", "§ AI Agent Optimization (AAO) vs. Search-Engine Optimization (SEO)"]
tags: ["ai-portal", "search-engine"]
related: ["concept-ai-agent-optimization-aao", "concept-flattening-of-retail", "quote-perplexity-transaction"]
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-cl-92-ai-agents-changing-shopping"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/02/ai-agents-are-changing-how-people-shop-heres-what-that-means-for-brands"
sourceTitle: "AI Agents Are Changing How People Shop. Here’s What That Means for Brands."
---
# Perplexity

**Perplexity** is an AI portal / answer engine cited as the prime example of the shift toward *agentic shopping*.

The authors note Perplexity can already **suggest products, summarize pros and cons from legitimate reviews, and provide links to the best prices**. It is reportedly already completing purchases and launching agents for multi-application tasks like booking trips — representing the leading edge of disintermediating traditional gatekeepers. This is the concrete instance behind the [[concept-flattening-of-retail]] and the anchoring quote [[quote-perplexity-transaction]].

As one of several interchangeable models reachable through aggregators like [[entity-poe]], Perplexity is also part of why brands need multi-agent strategies (see [[concept-ai-agent-optimization-aao]]).

**Canonical reference (enrichment):** *perplexity.ai* — an AI-native answer engine and "AI portal" that aggregates web sources, gives conversational answers, and already supports product recommendations with retailer links; frequently cited in AEO discussions as a key destination for AI-driven discovery.