What it means
Perplexity is an AI-native search engine that combines a large language model with real-time web search. Unlike a chatbot, Perplexity is built around answers and sources. Every claim in a Perplexity response includes a numbered citation linking back to a source page.
The product launched in late 2022 and grew rapidly through 2024 and 2025. By 2026 it handles hundreds of millions of queries per month and is particularly strong on research, technical, and product comparison queries.
Why it matters
For Australian service businesses, Perplexity is one of the easiest AI engines to optimize for because its citation behaviour is so transparent. You can see exactly which sources it pulled from for any answer, which makes it possible to reverse-engineer what content wins citations.
Perplexity also tends to favour specialist sources for higher-intent queries. For "best solar installer in Melbourne," it often cites local specialists over national directories. That is a meaningful advantage for small businesses with strong topical depth.
How it's used
To win Perplexity citations:
- Rank well in Google (Perplexity's primary live source)
- Publish topic-specific deep content rather than thin generalist pages
- Make sure PerplexityBot is not blocked in robots.txt
- Build brand mentions in industry sources Perplexity trusts
For the full playbook, see our Perplexity SEO: How to Get Cited by Perplexity AI in 2026.