Prompts for Perplexity: specific questions, sourced answers

Templates for Perplexity's Agent API presets (fast, low, medium, high, xhigh): questions that seed a good web search, capped lists and honest 'the sources don't say' answers.

Last updated: November 9, 2026 · Markdown version

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What changes with this model

Even if prompt structure is similar, each model has biases: some follow strict instructions better, some are more creative, and some need examples. These templates are designed to reduce ambiguity and improve consistency.

Recommendation: define output format (ideally with a checklist), add constraints, and if you need precision, use few-shot or require strict JSON.

Strict JSON Few-shot Hallucinations

Current models Promptea supports

Data taken from each provider’s official documentation; every entry shows the date it was last verified.

Perplexity Agent · low

default

Agent API preset for everyday research questions (web search + URL fetch, up to 5 steps). The preset Perplexity's examples use; replaces Sonar Reasoning Pro.

Context window: — tokens
Max output: — tokens
Input / output: text / text
Latency: balanced
Structured output: no
Tool use / native search: no / yes

How to prompt it: The question seeds the search: make it specific, with the vocabulary of the pages you want found. Keep instructions short (they are re-read every step), express domain/date limits as parameters, not prose, skip example answers, and read sources from search_results, not the text.

Verified on September 24, 2026 · official source

Perplexity Agent · fast

Agent API preset for single-fact lookups, definitions, and quick summaries (one step). Replaces Sonar and Sonar Pro.

Context window: — tokens
Max output: — tokens
Input / output: text / text
Latency: fast
Structured output: no
Tool use / native search: no / yes

How to prompt it: One pointed, specific question with 2-3 disambiguating context words — vague queries produce vague searches. Ask it to say when it can't find the answer.

Verified on September 24, 2026 · official source

Perplexity Agent · medium

Agent API preset for multi-hop browsing and wide aggregation across many sources (up to 15 steps).

Context window: — tokens
Max output: — tokens
Input / output: text / text
Latency: balanced
Structured output: no
Tool use / native search: no / yes

How to prompt it: Put the full analytical question with every searchable specific. Cap the item count if you want a list, and ask it to flag near-miss results (a different year, a related company).

Verified on September 24, 2026 · official source

Perplexity Agent · high

Agent API preset for expert-level reasoning and exhaustive source coverage. Replaces Sonar Deep Research; define scope, time period, and report format.

Context window: — tokens
Max output: — tokens
Input / output: text / text
Latency: slower (deliberate)
Structured output: no
Tool use / native search: no / yes

How to prompt it: Treat the prompt as a research brief, not a question: define scope, time period, geography, analysis dimensions, and report structure up front (at most 5 sections).

Verified on September 24, 2026 · official source

Perplexity Agent · xhigh

The Agent API's most capable preset: open-ended agentic work with sandboxed code, long tool-use loops, and gathering across many sources (up to 100 steps). Perplexity points to it for state-of-the-art deep research, when capability matters more than speed.

Context window: — tokens
Max output: — tokens
Input / output: text / text
Latency: slower (deliberate)
Structured output: no
Tool use / native search: no / yes

How to prompt it: Use it for open-ended tasks, not a single question: describe the end result you want (report, table, file), what it should compute or check with code, and the scope, time period, and sources. Hard limits (domains, dates) go in web_search filters, not prose.

Verified on October 9, 2026 · official source

Quick tips

Perplexity searches the web and reads pages before it answers, so your prompt seeds the search: make the question specific and use the vocabulary the relevant pages would use.
Keep instructions short and give it permission to say the sources do not answer the question, and to flag results that only nearly match (a different year, a related company, a similar name).
Cap list lengths and use at most five sections. Do not paste example answers: a search latches onto their topic, so describe the structure you want instead.
Domain and recency limits are API parameters, and citations come back separately: do not ask for URLs or 'only site X' in the prose, and read the sources from the response's search results.
Pick the preset by the size of the job: fast for a single fact, low for everyday research, medium for multi-hop questions across sources, high for an exhaustive report, xhigh for open-ended agentic work.

Templates

Sourced research question

What changed in [topic, with country/product and year] since [month year]?
Answer in at most 5 bullets, most relevant first, one sentence each.
If the sources do not cover something, say so instead of guessing.
If a result is about a different year, company or product, state the mismatch first.

Opens the analyzer with the prompt prefilled.

Open in Promptea

Research brief (high / xhigh)

Research brief: [question].
Scope: [what is in and out of scope]. Period: [dates].
Report format: a short summary, then at most 5 sections, each with the key finding and the evidence behind it.
Compare [A] and [B] on [criteria]. If sources disagree, show both positions.
If the sources do not answer part of the brief, say which part.

Opens the analyzer with the prompt prefilled.

Open in Promptea

FAQ

Which Perplexity preset should I use?

Match the preset to the job: fast for single-fact lookups, low for everyday research (the preset Perplexity's own examples use), medium for multi-hop questions, high for exhaustive coverage, xhigh for open-ended agentic work. The models list on this page shows each one with its verification date.

Should I paste URLs or examples into a Perplexity prompt?

Not in the prose. Citations come back as separate results, domain and date limits are API filters, and example answers pull the search toward their own topic. Describe the structure you want and let the search find the sources.

What happened to Sonar?

Perplexity ended support for Sonar Chat Completions on September 27, 2026 and points new work to the Agent API, where you choose a preset. Promptea's registry follows that change.