Perplexity Labs: AI giant's new tool creates tables, graphs, and simple web apps

Artificial intelligence (AI) company Perplexity has unveiled a new tool, "Perplexity Labs," which it describes as a "24x7 dedicated answering machine" for users.

Labs can generate reports, spreadsheets, dashboards, and simple web applications. The company states that Labs performs 10 minutes or more of self-supervised work, leveraging a suite of tools including deep web browse, code execution, and chart and image creation, to transform users' ideas into tangible output.

Perplexity claims Labs can condense days of work and extensive research into just 10 minutes. Pro subscribers can access Labs across Perplexity's web, iOS, and Android applications, with release for Mac and Windows apps planned soon.


How it works

Code Writing: Similar to many AI applications, Labs writes and executes code to manage tasks such as structuring data, applying formulas, and creating charts, text documents, or spreadsheets.

App Creation: Perplexity indicates that Labs can develop and deploy simple interactive web applications directly within an "App" tab in your project. This functionality allows for the creation of basic dashboards, slideshows, and websites without requiring external development tools.

In other news

It was reported earlier in May that Perplexity AI is in advanced talks to raise $500 million in a funding round, potentially valuing the startup at $14 billion. Venture capital firm Accel is reportedly set to lead this round.

Perplexity's latest launch coincides with growing concerns about AI's potential impact on employment, specifically the risk of a "jobs bloodbath" and the replacement of junior white-collar positions. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently told Axios that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and push unemployment to 10-20% within the next one to five years.