I paid for perplexity pro for 3 years. I genuinely enjoyed using it and felt it was better overall than ChatGPT etc due to the way it showed sources etc. I liked being able to use different models depending on what I was looking for, and the deep research was helpful.

I think they probably damaged themselves by going for a land grab of user base through freebies. It meant the users weren’t ever going to convert to paid customers, so it was more to show investors that they had a user base. But, with an increased base of users who weren’t paying, it then meant they needed to find either new revenue streams or cheaper ways to provide the service. Unfortunately, it seems they went with the new revenue streams whilst also decreasing the functions paying members were able to access (something I find quite abhorrent- I paid a service level, but then they change what I receive mid-subscription). And then computer - rammed down my throat. One reason I pay for pro is to stop the nagging noise of paid tiers. And instead, they actually created a way of logging in and continually seeing gated functions.

So, after paying them upwards of $400-$500 and being a loyal customer, I walked.