In this ever -expanding world of AI, are we just
drowning in answers? Or are we actually starting
to build solutions, real solutions that make
a difference in our businesses? beat. I mean,
navigating the sheer volume of AI tools out there
can feel, honestly, like a massive challenge
sometimes. Welcome to the deep dive. This is
where we try to cut through some of that noise
and guide you towards what genuinely matters.
Today, we're embarking on, I think, a really
fascinating exploration. It's about a pretty
significant shift happening in artificial intelligence.
We're moving beyond AI that just answers your
questions to AI that actually builds things,
tangible assets. real usable stuff for your business.
Our focus for this deep dive is a tool called
Perplexity Labs. People are calling it your personal
virtual analyst, maybe even like a lean consulting
team you can call on any time. We'll unpack what
really makes it different, how you can command
it effectively to get really top tier performance
and look at some of its practical strategic applications.
Our mission today is really to help you understand
how this particular AI can transform raw information,
your data, your ideas into actionable strategies,
concrete plans you can deploy right now. So let's
maybe kick things off with a problem many of
you listening, especially business owners, entrepreneurs,
you might recognize this, tool fatigue. Okay,
you open your browser, there are just countless
AI chatbots, they all promise answers, but how
many of them really create strategic value? Which
ones help you work smarter, not just harder,
by actually building something useful? That really
is the core issue, isn't it? Yeah. And the fundamental
shift with Perplexity Labs is, well, it's not
just... spitting out text answers. It's more
like an engine or, like you said, a virtual analyst,
a lean consulting team you can spin up instantly.
And the key is it creates actual assets. We're
talking things like complex financial spreadsheets,
interactive dashboards you can click around in,
even little mini applications like a custom ROI
calculator. It can generate detailed market analysis
charts, full in -depth strategic reports. And
the real game changer here is that these aren't
just rough drafts. They're often completed, you
know, professional grade deliverables. and they
get finished in minutes, not the weeks or months
it would normally take. Wow. That minutes not
weeks thing for, say, a strategic report. I mean,
for many business owners, that's not just saving
time. It sounds like a profound shift in just
how work gets done. It sounds like we're moving
from just getting quick facts to getting fully
completed strategic work. So how does that fundamentally
change how a business owner might approach their
day -to -day challenges? Well, it means you're
no longer just doing research. You're actively
producing finished strategic work. and at incredible
speed. That's a powerful distinction, definitely.
Let's dig into that a bit deeper then. What exactly
makes the lab's version so uniquely powerful,
especially compared to the standard perplexity,
maybe the pro mode that some of us might already
be using? Yeah, it's a really huge distinction.
Think of standard perplexity, even the pro mode,
as like your supersonic research assistant. You
ask it something. And maybe in, what, three or
four minutes, it synthesizes info from all over
the web. It cites its sources, gives you a concise,
pretty well -structured answer. It's great for
basic research, quick fact checking, maybe drafting
short bits of content. It's like having the world's
fastest librarian, basically. Perplexity Labs,
though, that's your analytical and construction
powerhouse. When you activate labs, you're essentially
assigning the AI a much more complex, multi -layered
project. And this often takes longer, maybe 10
minutes or more, because it isn't just searching
for information. It's performing a whole sequence
of intricate actions behind the scenes. It does
deep research, accessing and analyzing hundreds
of data sources, way more than standard. Then,
and this is where it gets really fascinating,
it moves to code execution, which means it actually
writes and runs Python code in a secure environment.
It's essentially programming on the fly. It does
this to analyze data, create spreadsheets, perform
complex calculations tailored to your specific
request. And importantly, it can process your
upload of files, CSVs, Excel sheets, text documents.
It digs into your unique business data for insights.
And then it goes beyond just numbers, right?
It generates charts, bar graphs, pie charts,
line graphs to visualize that data for you. And
yeah, it can even build simple mini apps, these
little interactive interfaces like a custom ROI
calculator or maybe a progress tracker for a
project you're working on. OK, hold on. When
you say code execution, just for maybe a non
-technical listener like me sometimes, does that
mean it's actually programming a solution from
scratch? Or is it more like using pre -built
templates? Can you give a super quick, tangible
example of what that Python code might do? Is
it building a custom financial model, just for
me, right there? Yeah, it's effectively programming.
It writes unique Python code tailored to analyze
your specific data or instructions. So it's building
custom models or generating unique insights,
rather than just plugging your numbers into a
pre -existing template. It's quite dynamic. You
could almost imagine labs as your virtual dream
team, right? You've got a researcher, a data
analyst, a programmer, and a strategic consultant
all working together seamlessly in one go. Now,
to access this, yeah, you do need a pro account.
That's around $20 a month currently. But honestly,
the value you get back when you consider getting
these assets in minutes versus potentially weeks
of human effort, it far exceeds that cost for
most serious users. Right. So it's really about
going beyond just finding information, isn't
it? It's about actively creating and building
usable solutions based on that information. Exactly.
It analyzes deeply and then it builds concrete,
usable tools and assets. OK, that makes sense.
So if this is like an elite team you're bringing
on to your desktop, the obvious question for
a lot of listeners is probably, How do you talk
to it? How do you direct it effectively? Simple,
kind of vague questions probably aren't going
to cut it here, right? You need to brief this
virtual team properly. Precisely. You can't just
throw out a casual one -liner and expect a masterpiece
back. You need what amounts to a detailed project
brief. And we found there's a proven seven -step
framework that's incredibly effective. It helps
you get superior, sometimes really astonishing
results from labs. First, define the role and
goal. And this isn't just fluff. If you tell
it, act as a chief strategy officer, and your
goal is to create a detailed market entry plan,
it genuinely changes the AI's perspective and
the depth of the output. Second, audience and
context. Who exactly needs this output? This
report is for the board of directors, and why
do they need it? To decide on budget allocation
for Q3, context is key. Third, data and sources.
Give it specific files if you have them, like
here's the CSV with our sales data, or provide
crucial background info it needs to understand
the situation. Fourth, the analytical framework.
Be specific. Don't just say analyze this, tell
it how. Perform a SWOT analysis or apply the
PESL model or use Porter's five forces. This
guides its strategic thinking process. Fifth,
output specifications. Describe the exact format
you want. Create an interactive dashboard with
three main charts showing X, Y, and Z. Or export
this as a fully functional Excel spreadsheet
with these specific columns. Sixth, style and
tone. Set the communication style you need. Use
a professional, formal, data -driven tone, or
maybe make it concise and easy for a non -expert
to understand. And finally, seventh, quality
and success criteria. Define what good looks
like for this specific task. Success means the
report clearly identifies three immediately actionable
opportunities for revenue growth. This whole
structure, these seven steps, they turn vague
requests into really clear directives. And that
clarity is where the magic really happens with
labs. Yeah, I have to admit, I still wrestle
with prompt drift myself sometimes, you know,
that frustrating thing where your AI chat just
kind of wanders off from what you originally
wanted. This framework sounds like it really
helps lock it onto the target. What would you
say is the biggest benefit of being that specific
with the AI? It fundamentally ensures the AI
truly understands your precise needs, which minimizes
wasted time and effort and gets you closer to
the exact output you wanted the first time. OK.
This is where, for me, it gets really exciting.
We've talked about what perplexity labs is and
how to talk to it effectively using that framework.
Now let's get practical. How can we actually
use this tool to build things for our businesses?
Not just get answers, but actually construct
solutions. This feels like the really transformative
part. Absolutely. This is the application layer.
And yeah, it's incredibly powerful. We've identified
about nine distinct strategic applications you
can use labs for, like right now. to build actual
solutions. Let's maybe highlight a few key ones.
OK, so for example, use case one, build a sustainable
business growth system. Instead of fumbling around
or maybe paying tens of thousands for consultants,
Perplexity Labs can build a detailed roadmap.
It actually creates a comprehensive strategy
report, suggests a KPI tracking system, gives
detailed recommendations for teen structure,
outlines like a 24 month scaling timeline, and
even builds a robust financial projection model
based on your inputs. The strategic benefit here.
You get what looks like a professional -grade
growth plan in under 30 minutes. That replaces
weeks, maybe months, of traditional research
and planning. Just think about that competitive
edge. Then there's use case three. Validate your
product idea before building. This one tackles
what is probably, for most entrepreneurs, the
most costly mistake. Building something nobody
actually wants to buy. Labs helps you create
a systematic validation workflow. It generates
a market demand analysis report, a kind of product
validation scorecard, suggests relevant A -B
testing methods, and can even build a little
mini -app to track your validation progress and
customer feedback. The strategic benefit here
is just huge. You minimize your risk of failure
significantly by making decisions based on actual
evidence, not just gut feelings or assumptions.
Another really powerful one is Use Case 7. Build
a content repurposing engine. Look, producing
fresh content constantly is exhausting, right?
I know it is. Labs can design a system to take
one core piece of content, say, a long -form
YouTube video you spent ages on, and turn it
into dozens of different formats for various
platforms. It can analyze content performance,
create a detailed repurposing workflow, give
you optimization guidelines for each platform,
like how do you turn that video into an SEO -friendly
blog post, or an email nurture series, or engaging
social media snippets. It maps it out. The strategic
benefit, you maximize the value of every single
hour you invest in content creation. This could
potentially reduce your new content creation
time by something like 60 % while massively increasing
your audience reach. And maybe one more quick
example. Use Case 9. Create a business process
automation analyzer if you feel like you're drowning
in manual repetitive tasks. Labs can analyze
your current workflows. It identifies the top
automation opportunities, even providing clear
ROI projections for each. It can create an interactive
dashboard to visualize this, recommend specific
automation tools with cost benefit breaks. breakdowns,
and lay out a phased implementation roadmap.
The strategic benefit is pretty clear. You could
reduce manual work by up to 60%, allowing you
to make intelligent data -driven investments
in automation that free up your team for higher
value, more creative work. And beyond just these
four, we're seeing really cool applications for
things like developing niche domination strategies,
accelerating personal brand growth, building
sophisticated competitive intelligence systems,
optimizing dynamic pricing, and even generating
genuinely insightful thought leadership content.
Whoa, just thinking about that. Imagine creating
a full business growth plan or properly validating
a new product idea in minutes, not months. That's
really like, like stacking Lego blocks of data
and analysis into a complete actionable strategy
right before your eyes. That's quite a range
of applications. Thinking about someone listening
who's maybe just starting out, maybe feeling
a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities. Which
of these use cases, in your experience, might
provide the fastest, most immediate kind of value?
Where's a good place to start? I'd say likely
validating a new product idea. Purely because
it helps you avoid potentially very costly mistakes
right at the beginning. That's immediate risk
reduction. All right, so we've got the formula,
that seven -step framework for commanding perplexity
labs. We've seen the sheer power and the range
of potential applications. But like any powerful
tool, there's using it, and then there's mastering
it. How do you truly get the most out of this?
Beyond just the basics, how do you continually
optimize your results and maybe avoid some common
pitfalls? That's a great point. To really master
labs and get consistent high -quality results,
there are a few practical tips and maybe some
advanced techniques to keep in mind. First, Schedule
Recurring Reports. This is super powerful for
ongoing analysis. You can often set up labs,
maybe in your account settings, to automatically
rerun certain analyses on a schedule. Think like
a monthly competitor watch report or a quarterly
market trends analysis. It just runs itself and
updates you. Second, download everything. Seriously.
Labs creates downloadable assets for almost everything
it builds. Save the charts as image files, the
spreadsheets as Excel or CSV, the dashboard sometimes
as code snippets or configuration files. These
are incredibly valuable for future reference,
for sharing, for integrating into other work.
Don't just leave them in the chat history. Third,
really lean into asking follow -up questions.
Don't just accept the first output and stop.
Labs is designed for iteration. You can dig deeper,
ask it to refine strategies, request more specific
data points, or clarify something that seems
unclear. Treat it like a real conversation with
your virtual team, push for more detail, challenge
assumptions. Fourth, and this is really crucial,
I think, especially for major business decisions,
compare and cross -reference. Look, while Labs
is incredibly impressive, no single AI is perfect.
or has all the answers. For critical strategic
calls, it's just good practice to cross -reference
its findings or recommendations with other leading
AI tools. Maybe run a similar query in Claude
or Gemini or ChatGPT. Each AI has slightly different
strengths, different training data, different
ways of reasoning. Synthesizing multiple AI perspectives
gives you a much more robust and well -rounded
picture before you commit to a big decision.
And finally, just a practical tip. Start simple.
Don't feel like you need to try all nine use
cases tomorrow. That's overwhelming. Pick the
one application that addresses your single biggest
business challenge right now. Focus on mastering
that specific use case first. Get comfortable
with the process. Build your confidence. Then,
once you've got that down, expand from there,
step by step. That point about cross -referencing
with other AIs is really interesting. Why is
that specifically so crucial for those really
major decisions? What's the core benefit of taking
that extra step, that multi -AI approach? because
each AI essentially provides a unique lens on
the problem. Combining those different perspectives
gives you a more comprehensive, more nuanced
understanding than relying on just one viewpoint.
It helps spot potential biases or gaps. Okay,
that makes a lot of sense. Let's bring this deep
dive toward a close then and maybe recap the
big ideas we've unpacked today. Proplexity Labs
really seems to represent a genuinely new category
of AI tool, doesn't it? It doesn't just retrieve
information for you, it actively builds complete
strategic solutions. Think of it like we discussed.
as that virtual consulting team capable of delivering
professional -grade analysis, building tangible
assets in minutes, not the weeks or months we're
used to. And the real key to unlocking its full
power, getting those really impressive, sometimes
astonishing results, lies in the specificity
of your instructions, using that comprehensive
seven -step prompt framework we walked through.
Absolutely. And that investment, you know, around
$20 a month. It can deliver truly invaluable
strategic insights and just massive time savings
for almost any business. So we really encourage
you, if this sounds interesting, to actually
try one of these strategies this week. Pick the
use case that really tackles your most pressing
business challenge right now and just give it
a shot. So yeah, what does all this really mean
for you, the listener? going forward. Well, I
think the future of business strategy isn't just
going to be about having access to information
or even just having more information than the
next person. Right. It's increasingly going to
be about having tools that can intelligently
turn that raw information into actionable plans,
into interactive dashboards you can use daily,
into automated systems that actually work for
you 24 -7. And it seems like Proplexity Labs
brings that future, brings those capabilities
directly into your business starting today. Thanks
so much for diving deep with us on this. Until
next time, keep learning and keep building.