Perplexity answers questions and shows its sources inline, which changes how you use it: instead of trusting a paragraph, you click the citation. That makes it genuinely useful for research where being wrong is expensive, and it largely replaces the search-then-skim loop. The free tier allows a limited number of advanced searches per day. The paid tier unlocks stronger models and file upload.
Where it falls short
It is a research tool, not a writing tool, and it will not help you draft anything longer than a paragraph.