Perplexity AI Setup Tutorial: How to Get Real Citations for Your Genealogy Research

Ready to complete your AI genealogy toolkit? Perplexity AI is the research game-changer you've been waiting for!

This final episode of our AI 101 series shows you how to set up Perplexity - the "answer engine" that searches the web in real-time and provides every answer with clickable citations. Perfect for genealogists who want AI help with proper source verification. In 10 minutes, you'll have Perplexity researching for you with academic-quality citations.

🎯 Perfect for Genealogists Who Want:

• AI research that shows you exactly where information comes from
• Real-time web search capabilities (not pre-trained responses)
• Clickable citations for every piece of information
• Current information about genealogy resources and records
• Academic-quality source verification for family history research
• Free, powerful research tool with no phone verification required

📋 Complete Perplexity Setup Tutorial: 

✅ How to access Perplexity.ai and understand what makes it special 

✅ Account creation walkthrough (email, Google, or Apple - no phone needed!) 

✅ Your first genealogy research query with real-time citations 

✅ Understanding Perplexity's unique "answer engine" approach 

✅ Using Focus options for Academic and specialized sources 

✅ Deep Research feature for comprehensive genealogy reports 

✅ Organizing research with Spaces (like digital file folders)

🔍 Why Perplexity is Perfect for Genealogy Research: 

📚 Real-Time Citations: Every answer includes numbered source links you can verify 

🌐 Current Information: Searches live web data for latest genealogy resources 

🎯 Research Focus: Built specifically for finding and citing reliable information 

📖 Academic Quality: Sources are presented like proper research papers 

🔍 Verification Friendly: Click any citation to see the original source 

⚡ Instant Results: Get comprehensive answers in seconds, not hours

🏆 Why This Tutorial Works: Unlike other Perplexity tutorials that focus on general use, this episode is designed specifically for genealogists who need reliable, citable sources. We practice with real family history questions and show you how to verify every piece of information Perplexity provides.

⚡ What Makes Perplexity Different: Unlike ChatGPT (conversational), Claude (document-focused), or Gemini (Google-integrated), Perplexity is built specifically for research. It searches the web live, synthesizes information from multiple sources, and always shows you where each fact came from - exactly what genealogists need.

💪 Ready to Research Like a Pro? Stop spending hours digging through search results for genealogy information. Perplexity gives you comprehensive, cited answers in seconds. Perfect for genealogists who want AI power with traditional research standards.

Your complete AI research team awaits - let's add the final, powerful piece to your genealogy toolkit!

Connect with Ancestors and Algorithms:

📧 Email: ancestorsandai@gmail.com
🌐 Website: https://ancestorsandai.com/
📘 Facebook Group: Ancestors and Algorithms: AI for Genealogy - www.facebook.com/groups/ancestorsandalgorithms/

Golden Rule Reminder: AI is your research assistant, not your researcher.

Join our Facebook group to share your AI genealogy breakthroughs, ask questions, and connect with fellow family historians who are embracing the future of genealogy research!

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Transcript

Welcome to our final mini episode of Ancestors and Algorithms. I'm Brian and I can't believe how far we've come together. You now know how to use ChatGPT, Cloud, and Google Gemini. That's an incredible AI toolkit. Today, we're adding the fourth and final piece to your AI research arsenal. Perplexity. And honestly, this one might become your favorite for genealogy research. Why? Because perplexity is like having a research librarian who not only finds you the perfect sources, but also shows you exactly where they found each piece of information. By the end of these ten minutes, you'll understand why perplexity is called an answer engine instead of a chatbot. And you'll have it set up and ready to help you research with real citations. Something genealogists absolutely love. Ready to complete your AI research team? Let's dive in. Today, we're setting up perplexity. That's P-E-R-P-L-E-X-I-T-Y. Now, don't let the name intimidate you. Perplexity is actually designed to make complex research simple. Here's what makes perplexity special. Unlike ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, perplexity doesn't just give you answers. It searches the internet in real time and shows you exactly where it found each piece of information. Every answer comes with clickable citations, just like a proper research paper. For genealogists, this is gold. When perplexity tells you something about historical records or suggests research strategies, you can see the sources and verify the information yourself. Remember our golden rule. AI is your research assistant, not your researcher. Perplexity takes this seriously by showing you its work. Let's get you set up with your new research detectives. First, let's get to perplexity's website. The address is simple. Perplexity. ai

That's P-E-R-P-L-E-X-I-T-Y dot A-I Type that into your browser's address bar and press enter. What you'll see is a clean, simple page with perplexity at the top and a search bar in the center that says, Ask Anything. Here's something really nice about perplexity. You can actually use it without creating an account. You can start asking questions right away. But we're going to set up an account anyway because it lets you save your searches and build a research history. Before we sign up, let me show you what makes perplexity different by asking a quick question. In that search box, type, quote, What records might help me research Irish immigrants in the 1800s, end quote. Watch what happens. Perplexity doesn't just give you an answer. It searches the web in real time, finds current information, and then gives you a summary with citations at the end. You can click on each of those citations to see exactly where that information came from. This is why genealogists love perplexity. Every piece of information has a source you can verify. It's like having a research assistant who always remembers to cite their sources. Now let's create your account. Look for a sign up or sign in button on that page. It's usually in the top right corner. Click on sign up and you'll have a few options. You can sign up with your email address or you can use your Google account or even your Apple account if you have one. If you've been following along with our previous episodes, I recommend using your Google account. It's quick and you don't need to remember another password. Just click continue with Google and choose the same Google account you used for Gemini. If you prefer to use your email address, that works too. Enter your email, create a password, and perplexity will send you a verification email. Unlike ChatGPT, perplexity doesn't require phone verification, so it's pretty straightforward. Once you're signed up and logged in, you'll see your profile icon in the corner, which means you're all set. Perplexity might ask you to set up a profile. You can do this or skip it for now. The important thing is that you're logged in, so your searches will be saved. Here's something interesting about perplexity. It's completely free to use, and the free version is actually quite powerful. There's a pro version for $20 a month, but for genealogy research, the free version gives you everything you need to get started. Alright, now comes the exciting part. Let's do some real genealogy research and see how Perplexity's citation system works. In the search box, type exactly this. Quote, I want to research my ancestors who lived in Pennsylvania in the 1800s. What records should I look for and where can I find them? End quote. Press enter and watch Perplexity work. You'll see it's actually searching the web in real time. Sometimes you can even see the search process happening. Then it gives you a comprehensive answer with citations at the end. This is where Perplexity shines. Click on any of those citations and you'll be taken to the original source. This might be a genealogy website, a historical society, or an academic article. You're seeing exactly where Perplexity got each piece of information. Now, try asking a follow-up question like, Quote, What are the best websites for finding Pennsylvania death certificates? End quote. Notice how Perplexity remembers the context of your previous question and gives you more specific information. And again, every piece of information has citations you can verify. Here's what makes this perfect for genealogists. When Perplexity tells you about a record repository or research strategy, you can immediately check the original sources to see if they're current and accurate. Remember our golden rule. AI is your research assistant, not your researcher. Perplexity makes it easy to verify everything it tells you. Before we wrap up, let me show you a few special features that make Perplexity incredibly useful for genealogy research. First, look for the focus option when you're typing a question. This lets you search specific types of sources. Try clicking academic if you want scholarly sources, or social if you want community discussions about genealogy topics. Second, Perplexity offers something called deep research. If you see this option, it will spend several minutes doing comprehensive research on your topic and create a detailed report with many sources. This is amazing for complex genealogy questions. Third, if you can organize your searches into spaces, think of these as research folders. You could create a space for each family line you're researching and keep all related searches together. Most importantly, Perplexity is perfect for current information. If you want to know about new genealogy websites, recent record releases, or current DNA testing features, Perplexity searches the latest information on the web. You've now mastered all four AI tools in our series. You have ChatGPT for creative research thinking, Claude for document analysis, Gemini for Google integration, and now, Perplexity for research with real citations. This is an incredible, powerful toolkit. Each AI has its own strengths, and together they can revolutionize your genealogy research. The key is knowing when to use which tool and always remembering that AI is your research assistant, not your researcher. Thank you for joining me on this AI journey. I'm Brian, your host with Ancestors and Algorithms. You've gone from AI intimidation to AI mastery in just four episodes. I can't wait to hear about the amazing discoveries you make using your new research superpowers.