How to set up Perplexity
Authentication
Perplexity uses API key authentication:- Sign up at perplexity.ai
- Navigate to API settings
- Generate an API key
- Copy the API key and paste it in Cargo when connecting
Perplexity actions
Instruct
Use Perplexity’s AI models to generate responses with real-time internet access. Required fields:- Model: Select the AI model
- Prompt: Your instruction or question
| Model | Description |
|---|---|
| Sonar Deep Research | Comprehensive expert-level research synthesized into actionable reports |
| Sonar | Lightweight search-grounded model, faster and cheaper |
| Sonar Pro | Premier search offering for advanced queries and follow-ups |
| Sonar Reasoning | Reasoning model powered by DeepSeek R1 with Chain of Thought |
| Sonar Reasoning Pro | Enhanced reasoning with Chain of Thought capabilities |
- Search Context Size: Controls search depth (High, Medium, Low)
- System prompt: Set context for the model’s behavior
- Search recency filter: Limit results to month, week, day, or hour
- Search domain filter: Whitelist or blacklist specific domains (prefix with
-to blacklist) - Return related questions: Get suggested follow-up questions
- Return images: Include relevant images in responses
- Maximum tokens: Limit response length
- Temperature: Control response randomness (0-2)
- Text: Plain text response
- JSON schema: Structured JSON output matching your schema
- Regex: Response matching a regex pattern
Use cases
- Account research: Deep-dive into target accounts before outreach
- Lead enrichment: Supplement traditional enrichment with real-time web data
- Content generation: Create personalized content based on research
- News monitoring: Track company and industry news
- Due diligence: Research potential partners or acquisition targets
Credits and pricing
Perplexity uses token-based pricing that varies by model and search context:| Model | Context | Cost per 1K tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar Deep Research | - | 0.5 credits |
| Sonar | High | 0.5 credits |
| Sonar | Medium | 0.4 credits |
| Sonar | Low | 0.3 credits |
| Sonar Pro | High | 1.0 credit |
| Sonar Pro | Medium | 0.8 credits |
| Sonar Pro | Low | 0.6 credits |
Rate limits
- Sonar Deep Research: 5 requests per minute
- Other models: 1,000 requests per minute
Best practices
- Use Sonar Deep Research for comprehensive reports on complex topics
- Use Sonar or Sonar Pro for quick lookups and real-time information
- Enable domain filters to focus research on authoritative sources
- Use JSON schema output for structured data extraction
- Set appropriate search recency for time-sensitive queries