Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn MorePerplexity has launched an aggressive bid to capture the enterprise AI search market, unveiling Sonar, an API service that outperforms offerings from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic on key benchmarks while also undercutting their prices.The move signals a significant shift in the AI landscape, as Perplexity now valued at $9 billion directly challenges larger competitors by making its real-time, web-connected search capabilities available to developers and enterprises.The companys dual-tier strategy offering both a lightweight Sonar service and a more robust Sonar Pro version targets different segments of the growing AI integration market.Perplexitys Sonar Pro outperforms major AI competitors in the SimpleQA benchmark, which measures response accuracy. (Credit: Perplexity)Sonars real-time advantage: Bringing fresh data to enterprisesZoom has already integrated Sonar into its AI Companion 2.0 product, allowing users to access real-time information without leaving video conferences a capability that could reshape how businesses conduct remote meetings and research.The pricing structure appears to be designed to disrupt the market. Sonars base tier costs $5 per 1,000 searches plus minimal token fees, while Sonar Pro, despite higher token costs, offers doubled citation density and multi-search capabilities for complex queries.What sets Sonar apart is its real-time web connection, a feature absent in many competing APIs that rely solely on training data. This approach could prove particularly valuable for enterprises requiring current information, although it may face challenges in applications requiring deterministic outputs.Perplexitys two-tier API offering shows the feature differences between Sonar Pro (left) and the base Sonar service (right), with Pro featuring enhanced citation capability and support for complex queries. (Credit: Perplexity)Disruptive pricing: Affordable AI search for the enterprise marketThe launch comes at a pivotal moment in the AI industry, when companies are increasingly seeking ways to integrate AI search capabilities into their products. With recent benchmarks showing Sonar Pro achieving an 85.8 F-score on the SimpleQA benchmark significantly outperforming GPT-4o and Claude Perplexity appears positioned to capitalize on growing enterprise demand for accurate, citation-backed AI responses.The timing of this launch comes as Perplexity demonstrates significant market momentum, having just secured a $500 million funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners, which valued the company at $9 billion. This strategy could prove particularly effective as enterprises increasingly prioritize AI tools that provide verifiable, current information over black-box solutions.For technical decision makers, Sonars launch represents a new option in the AI toolkit, particularly for applications requiring real-time information access and citation tracking. However, the true test will be whether Perplexity can maintain its performance edge and pricing advantage as larger competitors inevitably adjust their strategies.Daily insights on business use cases with VB DailyIf you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.Read our Privacy PolicyThanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.An error occured.