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Feature

Visual Search

Upload images and get AI analysis, identification, and context with live web grounding

Overview

Perplexity Pro's visual search lets you upload images and combine visual AI analysis with live web search. Unlike standard image recognition, it doesn't just identify what's in a photo — it contextualizes it with current information from the web.

Upload photos for AI identification combined with live web context
Identifies products, plants, animals, landmarks, and UI components
Combines visual recognition with current web information for complete answers
Available on both mobile (camera) and desktop (file upload)

How It Works

1

Upload the Image

Drag and drop or click to upload an image. On mobile, you can photograph directly from the Perplexity app.

2

Visual Analysis is Run

Perplexity's vision model analyzes the image content — identifying objects, text, people (described generically), and visual patterns.

3

Web Search is Triggered

Based on the visual analysis, relevant web searches are run to provide current context, pricing, identification details, or background information.

4

Integrated Answer

A response combining what's visually identified with current web-sourced information is delivered — much more useful than vision analysis alone.

Real-World Examples

Product Identification

Identifying and pricing an item

Upload photo of a piece of furniture: "What is this furniture piece, who makes it, what is its current retail price, and are there more affordable similar alternatives?"

Plant Identification

Identifying an unknown plant

Upload a photo of a plant: "What is this plant, is it toxic to pets, what are its care requirements, and where can I buy it online with current prices?"

Technical Diagram

Understanding a circuit or technical drawing

Upload a circuit board photo: "Identify the main components visible on this circuit board, explain what this circuit does based on the component layout, and find the datasheet for the main IC chip visible."

Pro Tips

Add Context to Image Uploads

Combine image upload with a specific question: "I photographed this while hiking — is it safe to eat?" gives much more targeted output than uploading with no question.

Use for Price Research

Photo a product you're considering purchasing and ask "find this product's best current price and recent buyer reviews." Instant price and review aggregation.

Analyze Charts and Graphs

Upload a chart from a report or presentation and ask "interpret what this chart shows, identify the most significant trend, and find current context for the data shown."

Business Card Extraction

Photograph a business card or printed text and ask Perplexity to extract the contact information, look up the company, and summarize their business — instant lead research.

Watch Out For

  • Visual search is a Pro feature — free tier users cannot upload images for analysis.
  • Image analysis accuracy varies with photo quality — ensure good lighting, focus, and minimal obstruction for identification tasks.
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