What is Perplexity Labs?

Perplexity Labs is the latest and most powerful addition to Perplexity AI’s toolkit. While Search and Research modes focus on answering questions, Labs is designed to complete entire projects or tasks for you using AI. Think of it as having an AI project assistant or even a small team at your disposal. You can give Labs a complex prompt or goal, and it will break down the work into steps and execute them one by one. This might include gathering information (like Research mode does), but also writing and running code, generating charts or images, creating documents or slides, and even building simple interactive web pages. The goal of Labs is to deliver a finished product or a detailed result, not just an answer.

For example, imagine you’re a small business owner and you want an analysis of your sales data, plus a generated report with charts. With Perplexity Labs, you could prompt: “Analyze this CSV of last quarter’s sales and create a summary report with key trends and a chart of monthly revenue.” Labs will actually read the data file, use code (like Python) to analyze it, produce the numbers or chart, and then compile a report – all within one session. It leverages advanced tools such as deep web browsing (if it needs more info from the internet), coding (to crunch data or simulate tasks), and content generation to put everything together. This might take a bit of time (often 10 minutes or more for complex Labs tasks, as it’s doing a lot), but it’s work that could take you days to do manually.

How is Labs different from Research mode? 

The key difference is the scope of output and tools. Research mode gives you a written report on a question. Labs can produce multiple outputs and tackle tasks that go beyond writing – for instance, creating a spreadsheet of results, a slideshow, or even an interactive mini-app. Labs projects are interactive: you can monitor its progress step by step, see what tasks it’s performing, and even intervene (for example, you can skip a step or provide additional instructions if needed). It’s a more collaborative and iterative workflow compared to the one-shot answer you get from Search or Research modes. Essentially, use Labs when you have a project or complex task (like “Plan my week’s meals and generate a shopping list with recipes”) and you want the AI to handle not just researching the info, but also organizing it into final outputs.

Currently, Perplexity Labs is available to Pro subscribers only (as of its launch). To access it, you’d go to Perplexity’s website or app and choose “Labs” from the mode selector. Once you have Labs mode open, you enter a prompt describing your project or task. Because Labs uses more resources (and can run code, etc.), Pro users are typically given a limited number of Labs runs per month (for example, 50 Labs projects monthly) to ensure quality and manage costs. When you run a Lab, you’ll see an interface with different tabs, like an “Assets” tab, where all generated files (charts, images, code, text, etc.) are collected for you to review and download. If the Lab creates an interactive result (like a mini web app or dashboard), you might see an “App” tab where you can interact with it directly. All of this happens within your browser – no need to install anything extra. It’s a very cutting-edge way to leverage AI for tasks that involve multiple steps and formats.

Why use Perplexity Labs? 

If you’re someone who has ever thought, “I wish I had an assistant to compile this research, analyze data, and put it all together for me,” then Labs is for you. It shines in scenarios like business analytics, creative projects, personal planning, or development prototyping. For instance, entrepreneurs can use Labs to draft business plans or market research; students or researchers might have it gather and format data for a study; a busy individual could even have Labs plan a vacation itinerary complete with maps and a budget spreadsheet. The appeal of Labs is that it can save you immense time by automating complex workflows. Instead of jumping between different tools (search engine, Excel, code editor, etc.), you just describe what you need, and Perplexity Labs orchestrates the rest. It’s like a supercharged version of AI assistance that doesn’t stop at text generation.

Because Labs is a premium feature, it reflects a glimpse into the future of what AI can do. As these tools evolve, having an AI that can not only tell you information but also produce tangible results (documents, files, apps) can revolutionize productivity. Perplexity Labs is at the forefront of that trend. It’s still new, so users are exploring all the possibilities, but early use cases have shown it building everything from data dashboards to storyboards for a short film. It’s an exciting tool if you have access to it.

Curious to experience Perplexity Labs? If you have a Perplexity Pro account, simply select “Labs” mode on the Perplexity AI site and describe a project you have in mind. Watch as the AI assembles your project step by step. Even if you’re just exploring, it’s fascinating to see how far AI can go – from answering simple questions to building entire projects. (And remember, if you want to stay updated on the latest AI tools like Perplexity, subscribe to our newsletter for more in-depth guides and FAQs!)

by Dr. Hernani Costa