How the AI-powered answer engine Perplexity uses Framer as a growth tool.

Introduction

Perplexity is at the cutting edge of modern technology. Valued at $1 Billion, its AI-driven answer engine is changing the way we use the internet. Instead of having to wade through dozens of Google links when huntings for information, Perplexity enables users to ask a question and get a single, curated, and relevant answer.

The company designed and published its site using Framer, but it goes deeper than that, as the tool is a vital part of Perplexity’s growth and expansion. To find out more about this journey, we spoke with Raman Malik, the company’s Head of Growth.

Choosing Framer

When Perplexity was gearing up to launch in 2022, the team decided on using a no-code tool to build their website. Their motivation was finding a platform that gave their marketing team the flexibility and freedom to make changes to the site without having to go through engineering.

On top of this, Perplexity needed something that could meet their aesthetic demands. “We have a very specific brand image,” Malik says, so they needed “a platform that really brought the brand to life.”

After evaluating the available options, receiving a raft of positive recommendations, and discovering the amount of high-quality websites made with the tool, Perplexity chose Framer.

This partnership has given Perplexity, Malik explains, a website of the quality you’d expect from “a web design agency, without spending on a web design agency.”

Implementation and the day-to-day

Getting Framer up-and-running was a breeze, and Perplexity launched its website smoothly. The company was able to share its AI-powered answer engine with the world without being bogged down by web development issues.

Launching a website was only the first step though. As Perplexity grew and its user base expanded, so did the amount of content it produces. A site must evolve with a company — and Framer makes this process simple.

Malik points towards Perplexity’s blog as an example: “Our brand designer can literally just sit in Framer and build something really beautiful, really high quality in seconds, while we just focus on the content that needs to go into it.”

With a blog redesign on the horizon, this allows the team to concentrate on creating something compelling, as opposed to being embroiled in technical details.

Another benefit of Framer’s flexibility and ease-of-use is how seamless it is for Perplexity to edit pre-existing articles. If a support page or FAQ section needs updating, there’s no need to bother a member of engineering or put in a time-consuming change request; anyone in the team can hop onto the platform and quickly do it.

To put it another way, Framer enables Perplexity’s team to spend less time on admin, and more time actually doing their jobs.

A strong support system

The worth of any tool or platform is not just measured on what happens when it works well, it’s also judged on how it deals with speed bumps — and Framer is no different.

“We rarely run into issues,” Malik says, but “it’s been really nice to have a Slack channel and have the immediate ability to reach out and get information.”

A key aspect of Framer is a support team that’s always available and can quickly solve any issues that arise. If Perplexity or any other partners encounter something they need assistance with, a quick message into a joint Slack channel gets the matter rapidly resolved.

Framer: A tool for growth

One point that came up often in our conversation with Malik was how Framer had evolved from a website platform into a key part of Perplexity’s growth strategy.

Malik explains that because an AI-powered answer engine is a broad concept, the company decided they needed to take a “verticalized strategy” to grow. This means one of Perplexity’s goals is to target specific groups with specific content.

“There are so many use cases [for Perplexity],” Malik says, that they need to show potential customers precisely how they could benefit from the technology. For example, explaining to specific groups — such as teachers or marketing professionals — how they can best us Perplexity in their roles.

This verticalized strategy requires the team to make specific landing pages for these verticals and then manage the content on them — something that, without Framer, would’ve required huge amounts of admin work.

“Because we can do teachers to product managers to financial services, whatever it is, we feel comfortable that we can spin this up very quickly and manage the content from there,” Malik explains. “So [Framer] opened up this entire strategy.”

Going global

Another aspect Framer assisted Perplexity with is its worldwide expansion.

“We’re a global company,” Malik says, “and a lot of our growth strategy is taking a global lens to partnerships.”

With this in mind, Perplexity needs to be able to quickly react to new partnerships in different countries, ensuring not only that its site is accessible, but also that it can target different verticals in those nations. Before a platform like Framer, this would be a huge undertaking, with thousands of hours of work needed to create and translate the entire website. Thankfully, this is no longer the case.

“It's literally one click of a button on Framer,” Malik explains, “you pick the language and it translates it immediately.”

This allows Perplexity to be agile and move into new markets with a speed that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.

Using Framer, Perplexity is able to quickly and efficiently translate the entire website into a new language. “One click [and] you see the magic happen,” Malik says. “That’s the feature that made my eyes light up.”

What’s next for Perplexity?

Perplexity’s goals are clear: more growth. Malik explains the company will achieve this through “continued investment in international partnerships, which Framer unlocks.”

This will be achieved by focusing on even more vertical use cases and building “a better experience for users in other countries outside of [the English speaking world].”

Framer will be at the heart of this strategy, enabling the team at Perplexity to focus on what they do best, instead of being stuck in lengthy request cycles and bogged down by technical problems.

As Malik puts it, Framer “gives us more flexibility than ever.” And when you’re at the forefront of technological change, that’s worth its weight in gold.