Perplexity your pit wall and strategy team watching every screen

Perplexity your pit wall and strategy team watching every screen

If ChatGPT is the McLaren fighting at the front and Claude is the Ferrari built for long powerful stints, Perplexity is the pit wall. It is the strategy team with headsets on, watching every screen, checking every bit of data and spotting the things the driver does not have time to see.

Think of Hannah Schmitz calling the perfect strategy for Max to win from the pitlane. Calm. Sharp. Ahead of the race. That is Perplexity in AI form.

It does not try to be the fastest or the most creative. It tries to be the most informed. And for many SME leaders, that is exactly what they need.

What Perplexity is best at

Perplexity shines when you need to understand something quickly and with confidence. It blends search and AI in a way that feels like having a research analyst by your side.

It can help you:

• Get clear overviews of new topics
• Scan the market or industry for what is happening
• Compare approaches or tools
• Understand trends and risks
• Get answers with sources you can check
• Prepare for meetings or decisions with a quick briefing

The key difference is that Perplexity shows you where the information comes from. It does not just give you an answer. It gives you the evidence, there is a link ready and waiting for you to fact-check on, and in business, that can be worth the entry fee on its own.

Why Perplexity works like the pit wall

It gives you visibility
While most AI tools give you a single answer, Perplexity shows links, sources and contrasting views, and follows this with options for the next question.

It is brilliant for decision support
It helps leaders prepare fast without guessing.

It checks its own homework
You always know where the information originated, and you can ask it to fact-check for you.

It is fast under pressure
When you need a quick overview before a meeting, it delivers.

It reduces the risk of making decisions with bad information
Because you can follow the trail.

Perplexity feels like having a strategy team monitoring the whole race while you focus on driving. You have your very own Hannah, ready for every scenario you can think of, and some you didn’t.

Pitfalls to watch for

Perplexity is powerful, but it is not a universal tool. The free tool gives you very limited searches and you will run out of them in no time at all.

It is not designed for long document writing
Claude still leads that race.

It is not great for creating content from scratch
ChatGPT or Gemini may be stronger for writing tasks.

It depends on the quality of available sources
If the internet is messy on a topic, the answers reflect that, but then so would a human.

It can be overwhelming
Some people prefer a simple answer, not a dashboard of information, this is easy to fall into.

Is Perplexity the right tool for your race

Choose Perplexity if:

• You often research topics quickly
• You need to get briefed fast before decisions or meetings
• You want sources you can trust and verify
• You care about what is happening outside your organisation
• You want to avoid hallucinations and guesswork

It may not be the first choice if:

• You rarely research or scan markets
• You want a tool mainly for writing or creative tasks
• You prefer something that works inside Microsoft or Google tools
• You do not need to check sources
• You wanted an all round LLM, Perplexity is a specialist

For many SMEs, Perplexity is the unsung hero. It is not the loudest tool. It is not the one people flex on LinkedIn. But it is often the one that saves the most time for senior leaders who need fast, accurate information.

When the race around you is fast and full of unknowns, Perplexity is the calm voice on the pit wall telling you when to push and when to hold. Want to know the latest data on a subject or whats happening in your market, then look no futher this is where you should be investing.

Want help choosing the right tools for your business

If you would like a clear plan for which AI tools match your team, your systems and your pace, I run short planning sessions and full roadmaps for SMEs. We look at the track you are on and pick the right tools for your race.

If you want to explore it, get in touch.