How to Use Perplexity Labs for Deep Research Reports
Perplexity Labs is a paid agent mode that turns one prompt into a multi-step research project, producing reports, spreadsheets, charts and mini web apps. It runs on Pro at $20/month, takes 5-15 minutes per task, and works from the web app at perplexity.ai.
If you have used regular search in Perplexity Labs and wondered why the answers feel shallow, Labs is the version built for work that takes more than one query. Instead of returning a paragraph, it plans a task list, reads sources, writes files, and hands you a folder of outputs.
What does Perplexity Labs actually do?
Labs runs an agent loop. You give it a goal; it breaks the goal into subtasks, runs searches, writes code when needed, and assembles deliverables. The outputs can be a written report, an Excel-style spreadsheet, a chart, or a small interactive web dashboard.
The catch is time. Short prompts finish in around 5 minutes. Anything with heavy data collection can push toward 15. You cannot watch it think in real time the way you can with a chat answer, so plan your wait.
How do you start a Labs task?
Log in, switch the model selector to Labs, and write the prompt as a brief rather than a question. A request like “compare pricing pages of 5 CRM vendors” is weak. A request like “build a spreadsheet of 5 CRM vendors with columns for entry price, per-seat cost at 20 users, free tier limits and source URLs” gives the agent a deliverable spec.
- Open perplexity.ai and pick Labs from the mode menu.
- State the deliverable, the format, and the audience in the first two sentences.
- List required columns, sections, or data points explicitly.
- Ask it to cite sources inline.
- Hit run and wait 5-15 minutes.
One practical tip: name the file type you want. “Produce a CSV” lands differently than “produce a table”, and the agent will follow the format instruction.
Is Perplexity Labs free?
No. Labs is limited to Perplexity Pro subscribers at $20/month, and there are usage caps on how many Labs runs you get per period. The free tier does not include Labs. Students and some enterprise plans get different allowances, so check your account page before assuming you have unlimited runs.
Where does Labs fall short?
It is not a replacement for a data analyst. If your sources are behind paywalls or inside your company wiki, Labs cannot reach them. It also tends to over-trust whatever ranking the search layer returns, so a niche or controversial topic can come back with a confident but thin report.
Who should use it: consultants, marketers, and anyone who needs a first-draft research folder fast. Who should skip it: teams that need audited data or reproducible pipelines, since Labs output is hard to rerun and diff.
Quick Summary
- Perplexity Labs is an agent mode that produces reports, spreadsheets and dashboards from one prompt.
- It costs $20/month via Perplexity Pro and runs 5-15 minutes per task.
- Write prompts as deliverable specs with formats, columns and audiences.
- It cannot reach paywalled or private sources.
- Best for fast first drafts, not audited data work.
