Perplexity is rolling out a new AI shopping experience designed to feel less like clicking through endless product grids and more like talking to a smart, personal assistant who actually knows how and why you shop. Available for free to U.S. users on web and desktop, the experience uses conversational search, memory and integrated checkout to turn product discovery into a guided, tailored journey instead of a hunt through tabs.
A conversational way to shop
Rather than typing brand names into a search bar and sifting through pages of results, shoppers can describe real‑life needs in natural language, like “the best winter jacket if I live in San Francisco and take a ferry to work.” Perplexity then surfaces options that match the actual context, weather, commute, use case, rather than generic “best of” lists.
Follow‑up questions such as “What about boots?” sit in the same conversation, so the assistant keeps track of your style, climate and earlier constraints. This conversational layer is built on the same assistant logic Perplexity uses across browsing, email and task tools, where AI is meant to scale the user’s thinking instead of replacing their judgement.
An assistant that remembers you
With memory turned on, Perplexity learns from past searches to refine future recommendations. If you have previously asked about mid‑century modern furniture, the assistant can prioritize that aesthetic when you next look for a desk lamp. If you have been comparing minimalist running shoes for a marathon, it can keep that preference in mind when helping you pick a race‑day bag.
This personalization is designed to counter ad‑driven results that often push what’s most profitable to show rather than what best fits the user. Over time, the system becomes better at mirroring your taste—style, performance, price tolerance—across categories like fashion, home, tech and outdoor.
Product cards instead of endless scrolling
Instead of sending you into infinite product grids, the new experience presents focused product cards that highlight the information that matters for your specific question. That can include core specs, pros and cons, key reviews and trade‑offs, so you can quickly decide “yes” or “no” without opening ten separate tabs.
This format is designed to be especially useful for categories where small details matter, materials for a sofa, heel height on boots, screen size and weight on laptops, or capacity and noise level on appliances. The goal is less time spent digging and more time evaluating a short list curated around your actual needs.
Integrated checkout with PayPal
To keep shoppers “in the flow,” Perplexity has partnered with PayPal to offer instant checkout inside the same interface for participating retailers. When you are ready to buy, you can complete the transaction without leaving the assistant, then continue the conversation, adding accessories, comparing alternatives or planning related purchases.
Even with this integration, retailers remain the merchant of record. They see who the customer is, manage returns, build loyalty and own the post‑purchase relationship, just as if the purchase had been made directly on their own sites. This is meant to make AI‑driven shopping better for shoppers without sidelining merchants.
Higher‑intent customers for retailers
Because the experience is built around clarifying questions and iterative recommendations, by the time a shopper clicks “buy,” they have typically narrowed in on a product that actually fits their constraints. Perplexity positions this as delivering higher‑intent traffic than traditional search, which often optimizes for clicks rather than real purchase decisions.
For merchants, this can mean fewer abandoned carts and more qualified customers, especially when combined with instant checkout that reduces the friction between decision and payment. The assistant, in theory, does the heavy lifting of discovery and comparison, then hands off a more confident buyer to the retailer.
Available now, with more to come
The new Perplexity shopping experience is live today for U.S. users on desktop and web, with iOS and Android availability coming in the following weeks. The company frames this as a first step toward what e‑commerce should feel like: personal discovery that reflects each shopper’s taste, paired with effortless action when they are ready to purchase.
As Perplexity continues to develop its AI assistant, the shopping experience is expected to cover more categories and become even more attuned to individual preferences, making “finding what you love” as simple as asking.
