What is Perplexity Pages & Will it Make Wikipedia Crumble?

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I just checked out Perplexity’s new Pages feature, and let me tell you — Wikipedia might start sweating buckets.

Perplexity.AI, an artificial intelligence search startup, is slowly rolling out a feature that allows users to transform their search results into custom, easily shareable “Pages,” raising the research and content-building experience into uncharted territory.

Perplexity Pages build on Perplexity’s existing AI-powered search functionality, which combines a Google-like cataloging system with AI for a unique analysis and squeaky-clean display.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Google AI Overview that will tell you to eat rocks. Perplexity Pages cites every piece of info and links back to the original source — often articles from killer websites like Run The Prompts.

With Pages, you ask a question and set your target audience. Perplexity then sifts through billions of web pages it has indexed and uses AI to assemble the results. Instead of just spitting out an answer in the chat window and calling it a day, it crafts a targeted Page just for you. And we know how much you enjoy customization.

As one of the internet’s top-paid bloggers (well, not yet at least), I found this a bit unsettling. Yet, every piece of info in Perplexity Pages is cited and links back to the original source — often articles from killer websites like Run The Prompts.

How to Create a Page in Perplexity

Perplexity pages are available to free and paid users.

Access the new Pages feature through the Library. Click to add a new Page, Thread, or Collection. 

For a new Page, you set a topic, specify the audience (anyone, beginners, or experts), and let Perplexity handle the research and dirty work.

Then, you can edit or swap the hero image at the top of the page by simply clicking on it.

I gave it a test run by creating a page on the GTA 5 video game, and it did a nice job. In case you’ve been living under a rock, GTA 5 is one of the most obscene games ever created and also the second-best-selling video game of all time, which says a lot about the state of humanity. However, it really is one of the best video games ever created.

Setting it up was easy. You can also easily add new sections. Each search query/prompt generates a section.

Perplexity emphasized the importance of sourcing information and citations. “In each section, you can view the sources for that content so you can always trace the information back to its original context,” a spokesperson said.

Perplexity even added: “If you remove a source, that section will be rewritten to no longer include information from that source.” Nice. Without that feature, a lot of people would have been sad.

Remember: the content you create with Perplexity Pages will ONLY be as good as its source. As you know, Run The Prompts is always a good source. Something to keep in mind.

Why Are Perplexity Pages Useful? Why Should You Care?

Typically, using search in Google Gemini and ChatGPT gives you static content. You search, it answers, and if someone else asks, the response will be slightly different because it’s using generative AI. Two answers are pretty much never going to be the same.

Pages allow the creation of specific pockets of information, generated by AI with citations from real, researched internet sources, making it easily shareable. And it’s lightning-fast to create a page.

This could challenge the big boy of knowledge, Wikipedia — which ironically provides much of the source material for Perplexity Pages — as people might go straight to Perplexity Pages for the details instead of Wikipedia.

However, Perplexity emphasizes that the value lies in the citations, with links back to every source. So, as long as Wikipedia or any other source keeps updating, they’ll always get links from Perplexity Pages.

Pages could also challenge traditional articles and blog sites, which have generally been creating content the old-fashioned way since pre-2000. A matchup like that could get interesting and fast.

Wrapping It Up

As the internet becomes more embedded with AI, we’re witnessing a tectonic shift below our feet in how information is created and shared with the globe. 

With new features like Pages in Perplexity, the traditional boundaries of content creation are being pushed further. How this all plays out is yet to be seen. But for Run The Prompts, it’s gold. Why? Because this is the kind of cutting-edge tech we thrive on dissecting and sharing with all of you.

Will Wikipedia survive the avalanche of pages created in Perplexity? Only time will tell. 

One thing’s for sure: staying informed about these changes is crucial. At Run The Prompts, we’ll keep bringing you the latest developments, wrapped in a crunchy layer of dry humor and straight talk without any bullshit. After all, someone has to keep the robots on their toes. We’ll fill the shoes.