Features, Use Cases, and How It Compares to ChatGPT in 2025

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🕒 15 min read | Updated June 2025

This comprehensive guide will show you exactly how to harness the full power of Perplexity Labs, compare it with competitors like ChatGPT and Claude, and provide real-world examples that you can start using today.

Introduction to Perplexity Labs
How Perplexity Labs Works
Getting Started
10 Powerful Features
vs Competitors
Real-World Use Cases
Tips & Best Practices
Limitations
Resources
FAQ

Introduction to Perplexity Labs

Perplexity Labs represents a revolutionary leap in AI-powered productivity tools, transforming how we approach complex research and content creation tasks. Launched in May 2025, this groundbreaking feature extends beyond traditional AI search capabilities to become your personal AI research team and content creation studio.

Unlike regular Perplexity AI that answers questions and provides research, Perplexity Labs actually creates complete projects for you. Think of it as having an entire team of analysts, designers, and developers working together to turn your ideas into finished products — all in about 10–30 minutes.

What makes Perplexity Labs truly special?

📈 Interactive Dashboards
Real-time data visualization with filtering capabilities

📄 Professional Reports
Formatted reports with charts and citations

📊 Dynamic Spreadsheets
Complex formulas and interactive calculations

💻 Web Applications
Functional mini-apps with HTML/CSS/JavaScript

How Perplexity Labs Works

Core Technology and AI Models

Perplexity Labs operates on a sophisticated multi-agent system. At its foundation, it uses advanced large language models similar to those powering ChatGPT and Claude, but with crucial enhancements for research and creation tasks.

Multi-Agent Architecture:

Research Agent: Scours the web using advanced search capabilities
Analysis Agent: Processes and synthesizes data, identifying patterns
Code Agent: Generates Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS code
Design Agent: Creates visual assets, charts, and infographics
Quality Agent: Reviews and refines outputs for accuracy

Key Difference: Deep Research provides the foundation — gathering comprehensive information from dozens of sources. Labs then transforms this research into actionable, interactive assets with dashboards, visualizations, and downloadable files.

Getting Started with Perplexity Labs

Subscription Requirements and Pricing

Perplexity Pro: $20/month (or $200/year)

✅ What’s Included:

50 Labs queries per month
Unlimited standard Perplexity searches
Access to premium AI models (GPT-4, Claude-3)
Deep Research capabilities
Image generation features
API access for developers

💰 ROI Analysis:

Freelance analyst: $500–2000/project
Data visualization: $300–800/dashboard
Market research: $1000–5000/report
Break-even: 2–3 projects/month

10 Powerful Features of Perplexity Labs

📈 1. Interactive Dashboard Creation

Perplexity Labs excels at creating sophisticated, interactive dashboards that rival those built by professional data analysts. These aren’t static images — they’re fully functional web applications.

Real-world Example: A marketing manager requested: “Create a dashboard analyzing social media campaign performance across platforms.” Within 20 minutes, Labs delivered real-time engagement metrics, interactive filters, trend visualizations, and ROI calculations.

📄 2. Automated Report Generation

Traditional report writing can take days or weeks. Perplexity Labs condenses this into minutes while maintaining professional quality and comprehensive coverage.

📊 3. Dynamic Spreadsheet Building

Labs creates sophisticated spreadsheets with complex formulas, conditional formatting, pivot tables, and interactive elements — going far beyond basic data tables.

💻 4. Code Generation and Execution

Unlike other AI tools that just generate code, Perplexity Labs actually runs the code to ensure it works and produces intended results across Python, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, and R.

📱 5. Mini Web Application Development

Labs can create functional web applications including calculators, data visualization tools, interactive maps, quiz systems, and simple CRM solutions.

Perplexity Labs vs Competitors

Here’s how the platforms stack up:

🧠 Perplexity Labs ($20/month)

✅ Real-time web access
✅ Interactive dashboards
✅ Professional reports
✅ Multiple export formats

🤖 ChatGPT Plus ($20/month)

❌ Limited web access
🟡 Basic visualizations
✅ File uploads
✅ Code execution

⚙️ Claude Pro ($20/month)

❌ No web access
✅ Artifacts editing
✅ Strong reasoning
🟡 Limited exports

Performance Comparison Summary

Perplexity Labs:

Web Access: 95/100
Dashboard Creation: 90/100
Report Quality: 85/100
Export Options: 95/100
Real-time Data: 90/100
User Experience: 85/100

ChatGPT Plus:

Web Access: 40/100
Dashboard Creation: 60/100
Report Quality: 75/100
Export Options: 70/100
Real-time Data: 45/100
User Experience: 80/100

Claude Pro:

Web Access: 20/100
Dashboard Creation: 65/100
Report Quality: 80/100
Export Options: 60/100
Real-time Data: 25/100
User Experience: 85/100

Real-World Use Cases and Examples

📈 Business Intelligence and Analytics

Scenario: A retail company wants to analyze Q4 sales performance and identify Q1 opportunities.

Sample Prompt: “Create a comprehensive business intelligence dashboard analyzing retail sales performance for Q4 2024, including product category analysis, customer segmentation, regional performance, and recommendations for Q1 strategy.”

Labs Output:

Interactive sales dashboard with regional filters
Customer segmentation with demographics
Seasonal trend analysis and strategic recommendations
Impact: Replaced weeks of analyst work with 25 minutes of AI processing.

🎓 Academic Research and Education

Scenario: Graduate student analyzing remote work impact on productivity across industries.

Research Query: “Research and analyze the impact of remote work on productivity across different industries post-2020, including statistical analysis, industry comparisons, and policy recommendations.”

Academic Deliverables:

Literature review with 50+ sources
Statistical analysis charts by industry
APA-formatted bibliography and presentation slides
Value: Condensed months of research into hours, providing a solid thesis foundation.

Watch this video

Advanced Tips and Best Practices

✅ Do’s — Optimize Your Prompts

Be Specific About Deliverables: Instead of “analyze the market,” specify “create an interactive dashboard analyzing the electric vehicle market with sales trends and 5-year projections.”
Include Context and Constraints: Mention audience and purpose: “for board members, focusing on cost-benefit analysis, 10–15 slides maximum.”

❌ Don’ts — Common Mistakes

Avoid Vague Requests: “Research AI” is too broad. Labs works best with specific, actionable objectives.
Don’t Waste Follow-ups: Each follow-up counts toward your 50 monthly queries. Plan comprehensive initial requests.

Limitations and Considerations

Current Technical Limitations

Real-time Data Constraints: Some data sources may have 15–20 minute delays.
Private Database Access: Cannot connect to proprietary data systems.
Language Support: Best performance with English-language prompts.

Privacy and Security Concerns

Data Handling: Avoid sensitive personal or proprietary business data.
Source Verification: Always verify critical information independently.

Resources

🎓 Scientific & Scholarly Sources

🌐 Online Resources

📚 Recommended Books

🎬 Multimedia Resources

TED Talk: Eric Schmidt: The AI revolution is underhyped
YouTube: Perplexity Labs DESTROYS ChatGPT, Gemini & Grok in AI Deep Research
YouTube: How to Use Perplexity Labs to Create ANYTHING

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Perplexity Labs and how much does it cost?
Perplexity Labs is an AI-powered productivity tool available exclusively to Perplexity Pro subscribers for $20/month. It creates interactive dashboards, reports, and web applications, with 50 queries per month included.

How does Perplexity Labs compare to ChatGPT?
While ChatGPT excels at conversational AI and file analysis, Perplexity Labs specializes in research-driven content creation with real-time web access and professional report formatting.

Can I use Labs for my business without technical skills?
Absolutely! Labs is designed for non-technical users. Simply describe what you want in plain English, and Labs handles all the technical implementation.

What types of projects work best with Perplexity Labs?
Labs excels at research-intensive projects requiring data visualization: market analysis, competitive research, financial reporting, and business intelligence dashboards.

How accurate is the information Labs provides?
Labs sources information from reputable websites and provides citations for verification. However, always verify critical information independently.

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First published by the author on June 7, 2025, on: AI Tools Guide

The Complete Guide to Perplexity Labs