Artificial intelligence firm Perplexity AI Inc. is rewriting the playbook for intellectual property research. On Thursday, the company unveiled Perplexity Patents, a conversational AI agent designed to eliminate the headache of traditional patent searches — a process long plagued by complex syntax, high costs, and limited results.
The launch marks Perplexity’s latest push into professional-grade AI tools, blending advanced search capabilities with natural language understanding. The Perplexity AI Patent Research Tool is being rolled out in beta, free for all users, with “Pro” and “Max” subscription tiers offering extended access and premium features.
From Obscure Syntax to Simple Questions
Perplexity said the tool was built to address a fundamental bottleneck in innovation — the cumbersome task of navigating patent databases. Traditional searches require precise keywords and arcane Boolean logic, a process the company compared to “finding a needle in a legal haystack.”
With Perplexity Patents, users can simply ask conversational queries such as, “Are there patents on AI for language learning?” or “Key quantum computing patents since 2024?” In seconds, the AI responds with curated results, an inline viewer, and direct links to official documents.
More than a basic search engine, the system allows users to “dig deeper” through follow-up questions, uncovering related technologies and identifying “decisive prior art” often missed by rigid keyword matching. A search for “fitness trackers,” for instance, might surface results for activity bands, health wearables, and step-counting watches — mapping the entire innovation ecosystem.
