Perplexity added two new features to its platform on Monday to offer users a new shopping experience. The artificial intelligence (AI) search engine is rolling out “Shop with Pro” and “Snap to Shop” features for paid subscribers. With the former, Perplexity Pro users can now purchase products directly on the platform after requesting 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 a blog postthe AI firm detailed the two new features. Both of these AI commerce features are currently available to Perplexity Pro users in the United States. Buy with Pro will allow users to run a query on a specific product or product recommendations for a particular scenario. When the results display, users will also see a curated list of recommended products that they can purchase with just one click.
Perplexity Buy with Pro interface
Photo credit: Perplexity
Users will first need to add shipping and billing information on Perplexity’s portal. Once done, they can click the Buy with Pro button next to the products to directly make a purchase without having to leave the app. The company also offers free delivery on all orders placed on the platform. In case Buy with Pro is not available for a product, the AI company says it will redirect the user to the merchant’s website.
Along with this, the company is also introducing a Snap to Shop feature. Just like Google Lens, users can use this feature to point their smartphone camera at a product and search for it. The AI will find the exact match or similar products, which can then be purchased using the Buy with Pro button. Perplexity says this feature is for those times when one doesn’t know the name of the product or can’t think of its description.
On the retailer side, the AI company launched 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 application programming interface (API) access to enable them to create a seamless experience for shoppers.
Recently, AI commerce has emerged as a new online shopping experience for buyers. With this, AI streamlines and automates processes such as product discovery, customer support, dynamic pricing, AI assistants to answer product queries and much more. Amazon’s Rufus AI, Shopify Magic, and Salesforce’s Einstein AI are some examples of tools enabling AI commerce.
