Perplexity’s ordinary search tool is fantastic, but its Social Search feature leaves much to be desired. Before it can even think about competing with Google in this area, the feature needs these new features.
1More Sources Than Just Reddit
While Reddit is a valuable resource, Perplexity’s Social Search toolonlyprovides results from this platform at the time of writing. It’s useful if you want to dissect various discussions from Reddit, but it doesn’t give a balanced overview.
Google is much better at including posts from different social networks. That’s not to say it’s perfect; there can sometimes betoo much Reddit in search results. Nonetheless, you’ll also find content from X (Twitter)—especially for live events and trending topics. Moreover, some searches provide content from Facebook and Instagram.
2Categorization for Forums and Other Websites
Another issue with Perplexity’s Social Search tool is that it looks no different from the ordinary version. While the search results are different, the layout is identical.
Google, on the other hand, now categorizes searches based on their origin. For example, Reddit and Quora appear underDiscussions and forumson the results pages.
Perplexity could stand out by categorizing further. For example, it could have categories for each specific platform. This would make it easier for people to navigate this tool and find the information they want.
3Better Accompanying Images When Possible
You can search for accompanying images on Perplexity; doing so is effectively this tool’s version of Google Images. This is fine, but I think it could really surpass Google if it focused on this area.
Google doesn’t really have an equivalent; for example, you’re able to’t see Instagram images without either clicking on a link or going to Google Images. Some social searches are much more visually oriented; for example, it’s probably worth including things like infographics.
