Capstone: a sourced literature or market scan, end to end
Goal. Run one complete, verified scan — a literature scan for a research topic or a market/competitor scan for a venture — combining everything: a specific question, the right mode, citation verification, and a Space to hold it.
Researcher: "Give me a structured scan of the last 3 years of literature on lipid nanoparticle delivery for mRNA therapeutics — group by approach, cite peer-reviewed sources, and note open questions." Founder: "Scan the current market for at-home microbiome testing kits — list the main companies, their pricing, their claimed science, and link a source for each."
Pick the prompt that fits you. Run it in Academic + Pro Search, then verify the load-bearing claims by opening their sources — this is the full workflow, not a single query.
- 1Set up. Open (or create) a Space for the topic so the whole scan stays in one place and you can keep refining it later.
- 2Run it in the right mode. Academic source + Pro Search for a literature scan; default web + Pro Search for a market scan. Ask for a structured output — grouped sections or a table with a source per row.
- 3Drill with follow-ups. "Now only in-vivo studies", "add each company's funding stage", "what's the strongest counter-evidence?" — sharpen the scan without restarting.
- 4Verify the load-bearing claims. Open the citations behind the numbers and conclusions you'd actually act on. Mark anything you couldn't confirm as unverified rather than dropping it silently.
- 5Go deeper if you have Pro/Max: Perplexity's deeper research mode (and Labs, on paid plans) can run a longer multi-step investigation and assemble a fuller report or assets — useful for a first full draft of a review or a market map. Treat its output the same way: verify before you trust.
You'll see. A structured, grouped scan — by research approach or by competitor — where each claim carries a source, the weak spots are flagged, and the whole thing lives in a Space you can return to and share.
Cost. The scan and verification work on the free tier (within Pro Search limits). Spaces, higher limits, and Labs-style deep reports are Pro/Max features.
Takeaway. A real scan is a workflow, not a question: specific ask → right mode → structured output → follow-ups → verify the sources that matter → keep it in a Space. That's Perplexity used the way it's meant to be.