Perplexity throttles PRO subscribers without prior notice: Difference between revisions
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added details on why Deep Research is important, and why the incident is of a particular importance for yearly, and monthly subscribers |
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==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Up to the event, Perplexity had offered 600 daily Deep Research queries, which is the mode that most distinguish the AI platform. It takes 3-5 minutes for the answer, acting like an agent, and 50 Labs queries, which takes around 10 minutes to complete the iterations, and this is a mode to generate outputs that are entire webpages/apps. | Up to the event, Perplexity had offered 600 daily Deep Research queries, which is the mode that most distinguish the AI platform. It takes 3-5 minutes for the answer, acting like an agent, and 50 Labs queries, which takes around 10 minutes to complete the iterations, and this is a mode to generate outputs that are entire webpages/apps, and one of the main reasons why customers subscribes to the PRO plan. | ||
There is no published limit, the values are only shown on the phone app when creating queries, and were available on the webapp before the change, but the new UI after the change has hidden these values from the browser version. | There is no published limit, the values are only shown on the phone app when creating queries, and were available on the webapp before the change, but the new UI after the change has hidden these values from the browser version. | ||
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*Research: '''600/day -> 20/month''' | *Research: '''600/day -> 20/month''' | ||
*Labs: '''50/month -> 25/month''' | *Labs: '''50/month -> 25/month''' | ||
Since the new web UI didn't show the new limits and no announcement has been done, users have exhausted their monthly allowance in less than a day, having now to wait 1.5 days before they could make another query. This is notably important for users that renew monthly, and a break of trust for annual subscribers, which mid-term has found themselves with a service different from the one they've subscribed to. [[File:2026-02-08-perplexity-new-limits-comparison.webp|alt=Screenshot of queries limits before and after.|thumb|Comparison between queries limits before and after the 2026-02-05 incident.]] | |||
[[File:2026-02-08-perplexity-new-limits-comparison.webp|alt=Screenshot of queries limits before and after.|thumb|Comparison between queries limits before and after the 2026-02-05 incident.]] | |||
==Consumers response== | ==Consumers response== | ||
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One user has started a petition<ref>{{Cite web |last=Desm |first=Mark |date=2026-02-09 |title=Hold Perplexity accountable for unlimited claims |url=https://www.change.org/p/hold-perplexity-accountable-for-unlimited-claims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260210234656/https://www.change.org/p/hold-perplexity-accountable-for-unlimited-claims |archive-date=2026-02-11 |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=change.org}}</ref> on change.org, over 80 people have signed on the first day. Perplexity is actively removing the petition link whenever gets posted on the server. | One user has started a petition<ref>{{Cite web |last=Desm |first=Mark |date=2026-02-09 |title=Hold Perplexity accountable for unlimited claims |url=https://www.change.org/p/hold-perplexity-accountable-for-unlimited-claims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260210234656/https://www.change.org/p/hold-perplexity-accountable-for-unlimited-claims |archive-date=2026-02-11 |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=change.org}}</ref> on change.org, over 80 people have signed on the first day. Perplexity is actively removing the petition link whenever gets posted on the server. | ||
== Perplexity response == | ==Perplexity response== | ||
There has been no official communication, but one of the moderators of the Discord server has expressed their opinion<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-08 |title=Moderator mares opinion |url=https://discord.com/channels/1047197230748151888/1111786888626438245/1470033172573192242 |url-status=live |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=Discord}}</ref> on why this has happened: | There has been no official communication, but one of the moderators of the Discord server has expressed their opinion<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-08 |title=Moderator mares opinion |url=https://discord.com/channels/1047197230748151888/1111786888626438245/1470033172573192242 |url-status=live |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=Discord}}</ref> on why this has happened: | ||
Revision as of 00:06, 11 February 2026
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Background
Up to the event, Perplexity had offered 600 daily Deep Research queries, which is the mode that most distinguish the AI platform. It takes 3-5 minutes for the answer, acting like an agent, and 50 Labs queries, which takes around 10 minutes to complete the iterations, and this is a mode to generate outputs that are entire webpages/apps, and one of the main reasons why customers subscribes to the PRO plan.
There is no published limit, the values are only shown on the phone app when creating queries, and were available on the webapp before the change, but the new UI after the change has hidden these values from the browser version.
The limit has coincided with the announcement[1] of a new Deep Search, more powerful, based on Opus 4.5.
Incident
Perplexity has deliberately reduced monthly queries for Pro users without prior notice for all their Pro user base.[2] The new limits are the followings:
- Research: 600/day -> 20/month
- Labs: 50/month -> 25/month
Since the new web UI didn't show the new limits and no announcement has been done, users have exhausted their monthly allowance in less than a day, having now to wait 1.5 days before they could make another query. This is notably important for users that renew monthly, and a break of trust for annual subscribers, which mid-term has found themselves with a service different from the one they've subscribed to.
Consumers response
Users have started opening formal complaints[3] on Perplexity's Discord server, and on other of their socials.
Some users[4] have asked for a refund a couple of days after the annual subscription, saying that this is not the service promoted at the time of subscription, but Perplexity has denied the refund.
Some users[5] have cancels their subscription.
One user has started a petition[6] on change.org, over 80 people have signed on the first day. Perplexity is actively removing the petition link whenever gets posted on the server.
Perplexity response
There has been no official communication, but one of the moderators of the Discord server has expressed their opinion[7] on why this has happened:
"Bottom line: Less wasteful querying, More intentional AI use, Healthier infrastructure, Lower environmental load.
That’s not regression. That’s responsible evolution."
References
- ↑ "Upgraded Deep Research". Perlexity.ai. 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Reddit reports". Reddit. 2026-02-05. Archived from the original on 2026-02-08. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ "Formal Complaints". Discord. 2026-02-08. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Subscribed to Pro for Deep Research – they nerfed it the same week, no refund". Reddit. 2026-02-06. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Cancelled my pro subscription after the recent Deep Research limits". Reddit. 2026-02-07. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Desm, Mark (2026-02-09). "Hold Perplexity accountable for unlimited claims". change.org. Archived from the original on 2026-02-11. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 2026-02-10 suggested (help) - ↑ "Moderator mares opinion". Discord. 2026-02-08. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)