In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Perplexity's AI-powered search to quickly find patents, analyze innovation gaps, and position your invention without infringement risk.
Step-by-step:
1. Go to Perplexity and search naturally: "Are there any patents related to AI automations?" - Perplexity automatically activates Patent Research (beta), showing relevant filings, owners, and dates
2. Refine with conversational queries: "Find active patents for AI-driven industrial automation and model drift detection", then follow up with "Summarize main claims" or "Show whitespace in this field"
3. Toggle on Agent Mode for advanced analysis - the AI automatically retrieves patents from multiple jurisdictions, creates tables, and builds visualization charts (showing "12 steps completed")
4. Review generated PNG charts showing patent clusters and risk zones, plus CSV files with patent IDs, titles, owners, and claims - identify which companies dominate and where opportunities exist
5. Use results to inform product design by identifying saturated areas to avoid, high-opportunity/low-risk zones for innovation, and specific technologies or claims requiring caution
Pro tip: Start with a broad query to capture the full patent landscape. Then iterate: ask the agent to list patents by company, summarize claims, or visualize whitespace.