Learning Timeline
Key Insights
Context Focus Tip
When you ask questions within a Space, Perplexity prioritizes your uploaded documents (Internal Knowledge) over general web searches. This is highly effective for preventing AI hallucinations.
File Upload Limits
For Free Tier users, there are limits on file sizes and the number of uploads per day. If you are conducting heavy research, consider compressing your PDFs first.
Library Organization
Use one 'Space' per reference project. Avoid mixing different subjects (e.g., cooking recipes & AI research) in the same Space to prevent the AI from getting confused with the instruction context.
Prompts
Custom Instruction for Research Assistant
Target:
Perplexity Spaces
You are an expert research assistant. Your primary task is to analyze the uploaded documents and provide answers strictly based on the provided context. When answering, always cite the source file name. If the information is not present in the files, clearly state that the context is missing from the provided references. Maintain a professional and academic tone.
Step by Step
Steps to Create a New Space in Perplexity
- Open the Perplexity AI main dashboard in your web browser.
- Go to the sidebar on the left side of the screen and click on the 'Library' menu.
- Click the '+' (Add) icon located right next to the 'Spaces' heading.
- Enter a specific name for your project in the 'Name' field (e.g., 'Research Smart City 2024').
- Choose a suitable icon to represent the Space if desired.
- Click the 'Create' button to confirm and build the Space.
Setting Custom Instructions for Research Context
- Inside the newly created Space, click the 'Settings' button located in the top-right corner.
- Find the text area under the 'Instructions' label.
- Enter specific instructions (Prompt) on how you want the AI to interact with your documents.
- Select the 'AI Model' you wish to use (e.g., Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o) if you have a Pro subscription.
- Click the 'Save' button to lock in your instruction settings.
Uploading Reference Documents to the Space
- Inside the Space chat area, click the 'Add Files' button or the paperclip icon.
- Select reference files from your computer (such as journal PDFs, interview transcripts, or industry reports).
- Wait for the 'upload' indicator to finish, showing that the files have been successfully added.
- Type your question or analysis request in the chat box to begin processing the documents (e.g., 'Summarize the 3 main points from all these documents').
- Press 'Enter' to start the analysis session.
