Best Perplexity AI Alternatives in 2026
Perplexity AI scores 8.5/10 on our tests. Here are 4 alternatives worth considering in the AI Chatbots & Assistants space.
Perplexity AI
A
AI-powered search engine that gives cited answers instead of a list of links
8.5
Current pick
Top Alternatives, Ranked
2
Google's free research assistant that turns your documents into an AI you can query -- and a podcast you can listen to
Overall: 7.8/10Free tier availableFrom $0
3
Microsoft's answer to ChatGPT -- free GPT-4 access with Bing search built in, but it feels like a corporate product
Overall: 7.5/10Free tier availableFrom $0
Score Comparison
| Tool | Ease of Use | Output Quality | Value | Features | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity AI(current) | 9.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 |
| ChatGPT | 10.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
| NotebookLM | 8.0 | 7.0 | 9.5 | 6.5 | 7.8 |
| Microsoft Copilot | 8.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
| Poe | 8.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
Not sure which to pick?
Read our full reviews or use the comparison tool to see how they stack up head-to-head.