Perplexity AI now lets you buy products via the search engine
Perplexity added two new features to its platform on Monday to offer users a new shopping experience. The artificial intelligence (AI) search engine introduces ‘Buy with Pro’ and ‘Snap to Shop’ features to paying subscribers. With the former, Perplexity Pro users can now purchase products directly on the platform after asking for recommendations. The latter is similar to Google Lens and allows users to capture an image of a product and share it with the AI search engine to find a match.
In one blog postthe AI company has detailed the two new features. Both AI commerce features are currently available to Perplexity Pro users in the US. Buy with Pro allows users to conduct a search about a specific product or product recommendations for a particular scenario. When results are displayed, users will also see a curated list of recommended products that they can purchase with a single click.
Perplexity’s Buy with Pro interface
Photo credit: confusion
Users must first add shipping and billing information to Perplexity’s portal. Once that’s done, they can click the Buy with Pro button next to the products to make an instant purchase without having to leave the app. The company also offers free shipping on all orders placed on the platform. If Buy with Pro isn’t available for a product, the AI company says it will redirect the user to the merchant’s website.
In addition, the company is also introducing a Snap to Shop feature. Like Google Lens, users can use this feature to point their smartphone’s camera at a product and search for it. The AI will find the exact match or similar products, which can then be purchased via the Buy with Pro button. Perplexity says this feature is for times when one doesn’t know the name of the product or can think of its description.
On the retailer side, the AI company has started the Perplexity Merchant Program, which allows retailers to share product specifications and similar data with the AI company without paying anything. The company also offers payment integrations and free API (Application Programming Interface) access to provide buyers with a seamless experience.
Recently, AI commerce has emerged as a new online shopping experience for buyers. With this, the AI streamlines and automates processes such as product discovery, customer support, setting dynamic pricing, AI assistants to answer product questions and more. Amazon’s Rufus AI, Shopify Magic, and Salesforce’s Einstein AI are some examples of tools that enable AI commerce.
