I Replaced Google with Perplexity AI for 2 Weeks — Honest Results
I set Google as my default search engine in 2004. I haven't seriously thought about it since.
For two weeks, I changed my default browser search to Perplexity AI. Every search I would have done in Google, I did in Perplexity instead.
This is what happened.
Why Perplexity AI?
Perplexity AI is an AI-powered answer engine. Instead of giving you a list of links, it reads multiple sources and gives you a synthesised answer — with citations.
Think of it as Google + AI summary + source list, all in one page.
The pitch is obvious: instead of clicking through five links to find your answer, Perplexity reads them for you and tells you what they say.
For two weeks, I tested whether that pitch holds up in real daily use.
The Categories I Tested
I categorised my searches into five types:
- Factual questions — What's the VAT threshold for UK small businesses? When did X event happen?
- Research questions — What are the main benefits of using Make.com over Zapier?
- How-to questions — How do I set up a Google Search Console property?
- Local and current questions — What time does X close? What's in the news today?
- Purchase decisions — What's the best microphone under £100?
What Perplexity AI Did Better
Research questions (category 2): This is where Perplexity genuinely won. For questions like "what are the pros and cons of TanStack Router vs Next.js" or "how do businesses in the UK typically structure consultant agreements," Perplexity's synthesised answer was better than anything I'd get from clicking through Google results.
It read the relevant articles, extracted the key points, presented a structured answer, and cited the sources. What would take me 20 minutes of reading took 3 minutes.
How-to questions (category 3): Strong performance. Step-by-step guides synthesised from multiple sources, with the relevant steps clearly presented. For technical questions especially, not having to click through five "how to" articles was a genuine improvement.
Purchase decisions (category 5): Surprisingly good. For product research, Perplexity synthesised review data from multiple sources and presented balanced assessments. Not perfect — it doesn't have access to real-time price data — but for "what should I buy in this category," it saved significant research time.
What Google Still Does Better
Local searches (part of category 4): Perplexity cannot compete with Google for anything local. "Coffee shops near me," "is this specific shop open on Sunday," "parking near this address" — Google's integration with Maps and local business data is irreplaceable. I found myself opening Google for every local search without thinking.
Very current news: Perplexity has access to recent web content, but Google's news integration is faster and more comprehensive for breaking news. For anything in the last few hours, Google was better.
Finding a specific website: If I know I want to go to a specific company's website, Google is faster. I type "Canva" and it takes me there. Perplexity gives me an AI summary of what Canva is, which is not what I wanted.
Image search: Perplexity has an image mode but it doesn't compete with Google Images for volume and quality.
The Unexpected Discoveries
I searched less. With Google, I often do five or six iterations of a search before I find what I need. With Perplexity, I often got what I needed in one query. My total daily search count dropped noticeably.
I read the sources. Perplexity's citations made me more likely to click through to verify something important. With Google, I often took the first result at face value. The citation habit Perplexity builds is genuinely better for information quality.
I got better at asking questions. Perplexity rewards specific, well-framed questions. The habit of asking "what is the best way to X given Y constraints" rather than "X tool" improved the quality of my information significantly.
The research loop broke. For complex research tasks, the Google loop of open tab → read → open another tab → compare → open another tab is genuinely exhausting. Perplexity synthesises across sources in a way that breaks this loop. For research-heavy days, this was significant.
The Numbers (My Two Weeks)
- Searches where Perplexity was clearly better: 47%
- Searches where they were roughly equivalent: 31%
- Searches where I switched to Google mid-task: 22%
The 22% that sent me to Google were primarily local, very current, or navigation searches. For everything else, Perplexity held its own and often exceeded it.
Week Two Adjustment: The Hybrid Approach
By week two I'd settled into a natural pattern:
- Research and analysis → Perplexity
- Quick factual questions → either (similar quality)
- Local and navigation → Google
- Breaking news → Google
- Purchase decisions → Perplexity for research, Google Shopping for price comparison
This hybrid feels like the right long-term answer. Not a full Perplexity replacement for Google — but Perplexity as a genuine alternative for the tasks it handles better.
The Verdict
Perplexity AI does not replace Google. And it doesn't need to.
For research-heavy work — which is a significant part of running a knowledge-based business — Perplexity is genuinely better. Faster answers, source attribution, synthesised views across multiple sources.
For local, navigational, and very current searches: Google remains the tool.
The change I made: Perplexity is now my default for research tasks. Google is my backup for everything else. My browser has both pinned.
If you do significant online research for your business, try Perplexity for a week. The learning curve is essentially zero — it's a search box — and you'll know within a few days whether it changes how you work.
Try the Switch
Perplexity AI is free at perplexity.ai. No account required to start. Change your search default for three days and see what happens.
Watch how I use Perplexity for business research on the Automate Lane YouTube channel: Automate Lane on YouTube
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