Perplexity AI, the company behind the popular chatbot of the same name, has announced a pair of new features designed to give users more control over the sources their AI draws upon: Internal Knowledge Search and Spaces. These additions mark a significant step towards enhancing the platform’s functionality and utility.
Internal Knowledge Search: Bridging the Gap Between Web and Private Data
Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter): “Today, we’re launching Perplexity for Internal Search: one tool to search over both the web and your team’s files with multi-step reasoning and code execution.” This development allows users to seamlessly integrate their own private files into the AI’s search process, enabling it to analyze both internal and external data.
Previously, users could upload personal files for AI processing, similar to features offered by platforms like Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot. Now, with Internal Search, Perplexity goes a step further by combining this capability with web search, effectively creating a consolidated knowledge platform. The company believes this integration will unlock substantial productivity gains for businesses, allowing them to conduct research across diverse data sources with greater efficiency.
Spaces: Customized AI Assistants for Specific Projects
Perplexity AI also introduces Spaces, described as an “AI-powered research and collaboration hub.” This feature empowers users to tailor their AI assistant to specific project requirements and data sets. Users can select their preferred LLM model and define how the model should respond to prompts and instructions.
This customization allows for a more nuanced and tailored AI experience, enhancing the platform’s applicability to a wide range of projects.
Privacy and Data Protection Concerns
Despite these exciting advancements, Perplexity is not without its controversies. The company has been under scrutiny for its data scraping practices, which involve extracting content from various websites for training its AI.
While Perplexity has taken steps to address privacy concerns by automatically opting its Enterprise Pro customers out of using their private data for AI training, regular Pro users need to manually deactivate this feature. The company emphasizes its commitment to data safety and privacy, asserting that it plans to incorporate reputable data providers like Crunchbase and FactSet for its Enterprise Pro customers.
Legal Battles: A Looming Challenge
Perplexity’s data scraping practices have sparked numerous legal battles. In 2024 alone, the company has been accused of directly copying content from publications such as CNBC and Forbes, prompting legal action from the latter. The New York Times and Conde Nast have also issued cease and desist orders, while Wired has accused Perplexity of plagiarism.
One high-profile instance involved Perplexity’s chatbot outputting a near-verbatim copy of a paywalled Forbes report about ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s military drone ambitions. This incident, which garnered nearly 30,000 views, highlights the potential for Perplexity’s data scraping practices to infringe on intellectual property rights.
The Future of Perplexity: Balancing Innovation with Ethical Responsibility
As Perplexity AI continues to develop and introduce new features, it must navigate the delicate balance between technological innovation and ethical responsibility. The company’s legal battles underscore the importance of addressing concerns surrounding data scraping and copyright infringement. Moving forward, Perplexity needs to demonstrate its commitment to ethical data usage and respectful collaboration with content creators to ensure the long-term sustainability and legitimacy of its platform.
