Compare Grok, GPT & Claude Using Perplexity AI

8/13/2025

A Deep Dive: Using Perplexity to Compare Grok, GPT, & Claude Like a Pro

Hey everyone, hope you're doing great. So, you've probably been hearing a ton about all the new AI models popping up, right? It feels like every week there's a new one that's supposed to be the next big thing. We've got Grok from xAI, the various flavors of GPT from OpenAI, & Claude from Anthropic, all doing some pretty incredible stuff.

But here's the thing: with so many options, how do you know which one is the best for what you need? It can get a little overwhelming. That's where a tool like Perplexity AI comes in, & that's what we're going to dive into today. We'll explore how you can use Perplexity to put these AI models to the test & see how they stack up against each other.

And just to clear something up before we get started, the word "perplexity" has two meanings in the AI world. There's Perplexity AI, the tool we'll be using, & then there's "perplexity" the metric, which is a technical way to measure how well a language model works. We'll touch on the metric later, but for now, we're focused on the tool.

So, grab a cup of coffee, & let's get into the nitty-gritty of comparing these AI powerhouses.

What's the Deal with Perplexity AI Anyway?

Alright, so first things first, what exactly is Perplexity AI? Think of it as a super-smart search engine. Instead of just giving you a list of links like Google does, Perplexity actually understands your questions & gives you a direct answer, complete with sources & citations. It's pretty cool, especially if you're doing research or need to find factual information quickly.

What makes Perplexity really interesting for our purposes is that it's not tied to just one AI model. With a Perplexity Pro subscription, you can actually choose which model you want to use for your searches. This includes models from OpenAI (the folks behind GPT) & Anthropic (the creators of Claude). This feature alone makes Perplexity a fantastic playground for comparing AI outputs.

But Perplexity is more than just a model-switching tool. It has some other neat features that are worth knowing about:

Real-time Web Search: Perplexity can search the web in real-time, so the information it gives you is up-to-date. This is a huge advantage over some older AI models that were trained on a fixed dataset & don't know about recent events.
Source Citations: This is a big one. Perplexity shows you where it got its information, so you can easily fact-check its answers. This is SO important, especially when you're dealing with AI-generated content.
Spaces: Perplexity lets you create "Spaces" to organize your research. You can think of these as project folders where you can keep all your related searches & questions in one place. This is super handy if you're doing a deep dive into a particular topic.

Now that we have a handle on what Perplexity is, let's take a closer look at the AI models we'll be comparing.

The Contenders: A Quick Rundown of Grok, GPT, & Claude

Before we get into the head-to-head comparisons, let's get to know our contenders a little better. Each of these models has its own unique personality & strengths.

Grok: The Witty Rebel with Real-Time Access

Grok is the brainchild of Elon Musk's xAI, & it definitely has a bit of his personality baked into it. It's designed to be witty, a little rebellious, & not afraid to tackle "spicy" questions that other AI models might shy away from.

One of Grok's biggest claims to fame is its real-time access to the firehose of information on X (formerly Twitter). This means it can give you insights into current events & trending topics that other models might miss. If you want to know what people are talking about right now, Grok is your go-to.

Grok has a few different versions, with Grok-4 being the latest & most powerful. It's also integrated into the X platform, so if you're a heavy X user, you'll have easy access to it.

GPT: The Versatile & Multimodal Powerhouse

GPT, which stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a family of AI models from OpenAI. You've probably heard of ChatGPT, which is powered by one of these models. GPT has been a dominant force in the AI world for a while now, & for good reason.

The latest versions, like GPT-4 & GPT-4o, are incredibly versatile. They can do everything from writing code & composing music to analyzing images & having a natural-sounding conversation. This multimodal capability is a big deal – it means you're not just limited to text-based interactions.

GPT models are known for their strong performance across a wide range of tasks, making them a great all-around choice. They're also widely available through various apps & services, including Perplexity.

Claude: The Safe, Ethical, & Big-Brained Thinker

Claude comes from Anthropic, an AI company with a strong focus on safety & ethics. What sets Claude apart is its "Constitutional AI" approach. This means it's been trained with a set of principles to ensure that its responses are helpful, harmless, & honest.

One of Claude's standout features is its massive context window. This means it can handle a huge amount of text in a single prompt – we're talking about the length of a short book! This makes it incredibly useful for tasks like summarizing long documents, analyzing complex reports, or even working with large codebases.

Claude also has different models, like the recently released Claude 3.7 Sonnet, which is known for its impressive reasoning abilities & coding skills. If you're looking for an AI that's both powerful & ethically-minded, Claude is a strong contender.

Let the Games Begin: Using Perplexity to Compare Outputs

Okay, now for the fun part. Let's talk about how you can actually use Perplexity to see how these models perform in the real world. Here are a few practical ways to do it:

1. The Head-to-Head Prompt Test

This is the most direct way to compare the models. If you have a Perplexity Pro account, you can simply ask the same question & then switch between the available models (like GPT & Claude) to see how their answers differ.

For example, you could ask a complex question like, "What are the long-term economic implications of widespread AI adoption in the manufacturing sector?" Then, you can generate a response with GPT-4o & another with Claude 3.7 Sonnet.

Pay attention to things like:

Depth of Analysis: Does one model provide a more in-depth & nuanced answer than the other?
Clarity & Structure: Is the information well-organized & easy to understand?
Sources Cited: Do the models cite different sources? Are the sources high-quality & relevant?

By doing this, you can get a feel for each model's strengths & weaknesses on a particular topic.

2. The Fact-Checking Challenge

This is where Perplexity's citation feature really shines. You can take a response from any of the AI models – Grok, GPT, or Claude – & use Perplexity to fact-check the information.

Let's say you ask Grok for the latest news on a particular company. You can then take the key facts from Grok's response & ask Perplexity to verify them, using its real-time web search. This will help you see how accurate & up-to-date each model is.

This is a great way to not only compare the models but also to develop good habits for working with AI. Always be a little skeptical & use tools like Perplexity to verify the information you receive.

3. The "Spaces" Showdown

If you're doing a more in-depth comparison, Perplexity's "Spaces" feature is your best friend. You can create a dedicated Space for your AI model comparison project & keep all your prompts, responses, & notes in one place.

For example, you could create a Space called "AI Model Showdown" & then have separate sections for Grok, GPT, & Claude. In each section, you can ask the same set of questions & save the responses. This will give you a well-organized & easy-to-reference comparison of how each model performs on a variety of tasks.

This is a fantastic way to build your own personal knowledge base about which AI model is best for which type of task.

Beyond Perplexity: Other Key Comparison Points

While Perplexity is a great tool for hands-on comparisons, there are other factors to consider when evaluating these AI models. Let's take a look at some of them.

Performance Benchmarks: The Numbers Game

If you're a data-driven person, you'll be happy to know that there are a ton of benchmarks out there that test the performance of these models on various tasks. These benchmarks cover everything from graduate-level reasoning & math problems to coding challenges.

Here's a quick & dirty summary of what some of the recent benchmarks have shown:

Reasoning: Claude & Grok tend to have a slight edge in complex reasoning tasks, with some benchmarks showing them outperforming GPT.
Coding: Claude is often praised for its clean & maintainable code generation, while GPT is also a strong contender in this area. Grok has shown impressive results in competitive coding benchmarks as well.
Math: Grok, with its "Heavy" variant, has performed exceptionally well on advanced math benchmarks.

It's important to remember that benchmarks aren't everything. They're just one piece of the puzzle. But they can give you a good idea of a model's raw capabilities.

Qualitative Differences: The Vibe Check

Sometimes, the best way to compare these models is to just use them & see how they feel. Each one has a distinct personality, & the one you prefer might come down to personal taste.

Grok: As we mentioned, Grok is the witty & rebellious one. If you're looking for an AI with a bit of personality, you'll probably enjoy interacting with Grok.
GPT: GPT is the polished & professional one. Its responses are usually well-written & to the point. It's a reliable & versatile choice for a wide range of tasks.
Claude: Claude is the thoughtful & cautious one. It's focused on providing safe & ethical responses, which can be a big plus if you're concerned about the potential harms of AI.

The best way to get a feel for these qualitative differences is to simply spend some time experimenting with each model.

Use Cases: The Right Tool for the Job

At the end of the day, the "best" AI model really depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Here are a few general guidelines:

For real-time information & social media trends: Grok is the clear winner, thanks to its integration with X.
For in-depth analysis of long documents: Claude's large context window gives it a major advantage.
For a versatile, all-around performer: GPT is a solid choice that can handle a wide variety of tasks with impressive results.

Of course, these are just general suggestions. The best way to find the right tool for the job is to experiment & see what works best for you.

And when it comes to business applications, it's not just about which model is "best," but how you can leverage them to achieve your goals. This is where a platform like Arsturn comes into the picture. For businesses looking to enhance customer service, Arsturn helps you build no-code AI chatbots trained on your own data. Imagine having a chatbot on your website that can provide instant support, answer customer questions 24/7, & engage with visitors in a personalized way. That's the power of harnessing AI for your business.

A Quick Word on the "Other" Perplexity

Before we wrap up, I want to quickly circle back to the dual meaning of "perplexity." As I mentioned earlier, "perplexity" is also a technical metric used to evaluate language models.

In simple terms, perplexity measures how "surprised" a model is by a sequence of words. A lower perplexity score means the model is less surprised, which indicates that it's better at predicting the next word in a sentence. So, when you see researchers talking about perplexity scores, just remember that lower is better.

This isn't something you'll need to worry about as a casual user, but it's a good term to be familiar with if you want to understand how these models are evaluated on a technical level.

And for businesses, the goal is to reduce the "perplexity" or confusion of your customers. By using a tool like Arsturn, you can create a conversational AI platform that provides clear, consistent, & helpful answers to your customers' questions, building meaningful connections & boosting conversions.

Hope this was helpful!

Whew, that was a lot to cover! I hope this deep dive into comparing Grok, GPT, & Claude using Perplexity has been helpful. The AI landscape is moving at a breakneck pace, & it can be tough to keep up. But by using tools like Perplexity & understanding the key differences between these models, you can make informed decisions about which one is right for you.

My advice? Don't just take my word for it. Go out there & experiment! Try asking the same questions to different models, play around with their different features, & see which one you vibe with the most.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Have you had any interesting experiences comparing these models? I'd love to hear about them. Until next time, happy prompting!