Perplexity has been scaling up its services at a substantial rate. After releasing the Comet browser for the public, CEO Aravind Srinivas has now launched Perplexity Patents, a new AI-powered research agent designed for those dealing with intellectual property (IP) intelligence. Described as the world’s first AI patent research agent, the tool promises to democratise access to vast patent data by using natural language queries instead of complex search syntax.
Prior to this, patent research has been limited to professionals due to rigid database interfaces, legal jargon, and high costs. Perplexity Patents promises to replace this complexity with a conversational search model.
Perplexity now helps search patent work
Perplexity Patents allows users to ask questions like, “Are there any patents on AI for language learning?” or “Key quantum computing patents since 2024?” The system then responds with collections of relevant patents with inline viewers and direct links to the original documents.
The core innovation here lies in the tool’s ability to detect conceptual similarities, even when different terminology is used. For instance, it can successfully link patents describing “health monitoring wearables” to a user’s query about “fitness trackers,” ensuring comprehensive prior art discovery. This semantic search capability is a major advantage over traditional keyword-dependent systems.
Perplexity Patents extends its search beyond traditional archives to draw insights from external sources, including academic papers and open-source software repositories. This cross-source intelligence provides a bigger picture of emerging technology, which is invaluable for engineers, R&D teams, and business strategists validating new inventions.
The tool is launching as a free global beta, providing core functionality to everyone. Paid subscribers on Perplexity Pro and Max tiers will receive higher usage limits and more configuration options for detailed research.
Perplexity Scholar coming next
The company is also planning a similar tool for academic research, dubbed Perplexity Scholar, hinting at a broader strategy to simplify complex information retrieval across various domains.
