Perplexity's hidden gems transform research

In the crowded landscape of AI tools, Perplexity has emerged as a standout research assistant that combines the best aspects of search engines with conversational AI capabilities. While many know the basics, a substantial number of users are missing out on the platform's most powerful features that could dramatically improve their research efficiency and output quality. These overlooked capabilities transform Perplexity from a simple search tool into a comprehensive research partner.

Key Points

• Focus Mode allows users to control information sources (academic, social, etc.), dramatically changing the quality and perspective of answers depending on research needs
• Spaces lets you organize research topics with custom instructions that direct how Perplexity responds to every query within that workspace
• Deep Research Mode generates comprehensive reports with multiple sections, citations, and in-depth analysis that can take up to 30 minutes to compile
• Pages converts any conversation thread into a well-formatted, shareable document with customizable sections, images, and professional formatting
• File Uploads enables direct interaction with documents, allowing users to ask questions about content without manually searching through files

The Game-Changer: Context-Aware Research

The most transformative aspect of Perplexity isn't any single feature but how they work together to create context-aware research experiences. Take the Spaces feature with custom instructions—this effectively gives users a personalized research assistant trained to respond exactly how they need for specific topics or workflows. For professionals conducting regular competitive analysis, market research, or literature reviews, this can reduce hours of work to minutes.

What makes this particularly valuable is that it addresses the fundamental limitation of traditional search: the need to constantly reframe and refine queries. Instead, Perplexity maintains context across your research journey, building understanding as you explore a topic further. This represents a fundamental shift in how we interact with information—moving from isolated searches to continuous, evolving research conversations.

Beyond What The Video Covered

While the video demonstrated impressive capabilities, it missed discussing how these features can be combined to create powerful research workflows. For example, a journalist covering a breaking story could create a Space with custom instructions for news analysis, use Focus Mode set to "recent" for up-to-date information, deploy Deep Research for comprehensive background, upload press releases