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Welcome back to AI Made Simple!
This week we are covering something that affects millions of students, researchers, and curious minds worldwide - how AI is completely transforming the way people find and use information.
If you have ever spent hours searching for sources, struggled to find reliable citations, or stared at a blank page not knowing where to start a paper or article - this week is for you.
🔥 AI News of the Week
1. Students are abandoning Google for AI research tools
A major shift is happening in how people research. Perplexity AI has emerged as the most disruptive tool for thesis writers and graduate students in 2026 - combining live web search with AI reasoning to give cited answers in seconds instead of a list of links to manually read. Students at universities around the world are making the switch, and the numbers back it up. Perplexity now serves 45 million monthly users and handles over 1 billion queries per month, crossing $450 million in annualized recurring revenue in March 2026.
2. AI can now generate full research reports in minutes
The days of spending a weekend on a literature review are quietly ending. Perplexity's Deep Research feature now achieves state-of-the-art performance on leading external benchmarks, outperforming other deep research tools on accuracy and reliability - searching dozens of sources, reading full articles, comparing data, and writing a structured report, all in minutes. What used to take days now takes under half an hour.
3. "Learn Step by Step" is now available to everyone
One of the most exciting features in AI research tools just opened up to all users. Perplexity's "Learn step by step" mode, previously locked to student accounts, is now available to everyone - giving anyone an interactive, guided learning experience for any topic rather than just a flat answer. It asks guiding questions, calibrates to your level, and helps you actually understand something rather than just copy it.
🛠️ Tool of the Week: Perplexity AI 🔍
In previous editions we have covered tools for research with documents (NotebookLM), automation (Zapier), video (Higgsfield), and music (Suno). This week we are going back to basics - finding information on the internet - but completely reimagined with AI.
Perplexity AI is the tool that is replacing Google for millions of people. Instead of showing you ten links and making you read everything yourself, Perplexity reads those sources for you, synthesises the information, and gives you a direct answer - with every claim linked to a verified source.
Think of it as Google, but smarter, faster, and with a built-in research assistant doing the hard work.
Why it is this week's pick:
Completely free to start - no credit card needed
Every answer includes citations so you can verify what you are reading
Has a specific Academic mode that limits results to peer-reviewed papers
Students can get free Pro access for 12 months by verifying student status through SheerID - saving over $240
Perfect for essays, thesis writing, literature reviews, and general research
How to try it: 👉 Go to perplexity.ai or download the free app on iOS or Android. Sign in with Google and start searching immediately. No setup needed.
In the next edition I give you a full deep-dive into everything Perplexity can do. And later this week your Perplexity Cheat Sheet arrives with the best research prompts to get great results instantly.
🔗 Quick Reads
Perplexity AI - try it free - Jump straight in. Ask it anything and see cited answers in seconds. The fastest way to understand what makes it different.
The best free AI research tools for students in 2026 - A solid comparison of the top tools available right now, all tested by real students. Perplexity comes out on top for most use cases.
How Deep Research works - A look at Perplexity's most powerful feature - the one that generates full research reports in minutes. Worth understanding before you need it.
Hit reply and tell me - what is the hardest part of research or writing for you? I would love to cover it in a future issue! 😊
Jatin Chawla
Founder, AI Made Simple