On Tuesday, two AI startups tried convincing the world their AI chatbots had been ok to be an correct, real-time supply of data throughout a high-stakes presidential election: xAI and Perplexity.
Elon Musk’s Grok failed virtually immediately, providing mistaken solutions about races’ outcomes earlier than the polls had even closed.
Alternatively, Perplexity provided useful, real-time election insights and maps all through the evening, linking to dependable assets and providing historic context the place acceptable.
Perplexity took a dangerous wager, and it paid off.
Late final week, the startup introduced the launch of its election info hub, that includes real-time maps populated with voting knowledge from Democracy Works and the Related Press, the identical info sources that energy Google’s election map. This strategy was totally different from most different AI chatbots, akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini, which merely refused to reply questions associated to the election.
It’s comprehensible why most AI labs sat this election out. It was the protected and accountable alternative for a lot of of them, as they’ve been stricken by embarrassing hallucinations sooner or later or one other within the final yr.
Specifically, OpenAI not too long ago launched its Google competitor, ChatGPT Search. However the Sam Altman-led startup didn’t belief the function to reply questions on this election, directing customers to Vote.org as a substitute. ChatGPT Search continues to be an early product, which is too unreliable for folks to make use of in on a regular basis situations, and OpenAI appears to have acknowledged that.
In distinction, Perplexity has been testing its Google competitor out in the actual world since December 2022, and clearly felt it had sufficient knowledge to provide this election a shot.
Perplexity’s election evening success might set it again in its ongoing combat with media firms; particularly, Dow Jones’ latest lawsuit claiming the startup competes with media firms for a similar audiences. Regardless of the various outbound hyperlinks inside the AI chatbot’s solutions, Perplexity’s election hub was itself a vacation spot on election evening, and it didn’t require customers to enterprise off the app to get all their info. It actually looks like Perplexity was competing with media firms, who had been additionally vying for eyeballs on election evening, though Perplexity collects its info from these retailers. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas even claimed “record traffic” the day earlier than, and clearly hoped to keep up that momentum.
Whereas Perplexity had offers with Democracy Works, the AP, and some different media firms to energy election options, the startup additionally indiscriminately used reside election protection from different media retailers akin to CBS, CNN, and the BBC. Positive, Perplexity provided attribution, however the firm hasn’t introduced any revenue-sharing partnerships with these retailers and it’s unclear if any cash modified palms.
How Perplexity fared on Election Evening
First, let’s begin with Perplexity’s election options that had nothing to do with generative AI: the charts.
Individuals usually love visible election charts, clicking into them, and seeing granular knowledge on a state-by-state degree. It was a sensible transfer for Perplexity to construct these out, and ensured their AI methods weren’t the only real supply of data within the app.
When visiting Perplexity’s election hub, customers had been met with a well-known trying electoral map of america, with some states blue for Kamala Harris and others crimson for Donald Trump. Clearly, Perplexity didn’t reinvent the wheel with this function – copying the show Google and each TV community exhibits – however they didn’t must. All through the evening, this map appeared to replace each minute or so, reflecting the knowledge on the Related Press’ web site. It was a great way to observe the election.
There have been bugs in Perplexity’s map periodically all through the evening. CEO Aravind Srinivas responded to customers on X that had been reporting flaws, akin to Perplexity not reporting the proportion of votes that had been counted, and rapidly addressed them.
Perplexity provided one other acquainted function, a state-by-state tracker, giving real-time details about swing states.
Now for the AI half. When requested questions concerning the present state of the Presidential race, Perplexity answered with hedged responses that also gave principally correct info. These solutions weren’t as insightful as a commentator on CNN, nor as entertaining as The New York Occasions’ election needle (which made a comeback this yr). Nonetheless, Perplexity solely confirmed a number of small hallucinations, and largely produced related info in a well timed method. That’s greater than I can say for every other AI chatbot available on the market.
When attempting to reply follow-up questions on Harris’s lead in so-called “Blue Wall” states, Perplexity did hallucinate barely. It was referencing polling knowledge, when it ought to have been referencing real-time votes at this level within the evening. Nonetheless, the final info right here was in the appropriate ballpark, and different AI chatbots simply wouldn’t reply this query.
Right here’s one other followup query we tried: What ballots have but to be counted in swing states? It was arduous to search out a solution to this query elsewhere. Granted, the one helpful solutions right here had been for Pennsylvania and North Carolina, however at the least Perplexity didn’t hallucinate for the opposite states.
2024 was the primary election to function AI chatbots as a supply of data round our democratic processes. Nonetheless, this won’t be the final election the place that’s the case. Nicely-funded AI startups are combating to ship info to folks in new, sooner, extra concise methods. Accuracy will probably be key to success right here transferring ahead. Thus far, Perplexity has the early lead.
