Clarification on Perplexity API: Does it Provide Access to Search Functionality or Only AI Models?

[eviro-labs]

Hello,

I’m currently exploring the Perplexity API for a project and have encountered a key difference between the API responses and the real-time data I receive from the Perplexity web client.

While the web client appears to provide real-time responses and access to specific search functionality (e.g., retrieving LinkedIn profiles or other web-based information), the API responses seem to be limited to results generated by the AI models without real-time search capabilities.

Could you clarify:

Does the Perplexity API provide access to the same real-time search functionality as the web client?
If not, is there a way to enable real-time data retrieval via the API?
Are there specific configurations or API tiers required to access real-time search features?
I’d appreciate any insights or documentation references you can share to help bridge the gap between the web client and API functionalities.

Thanks in advance for your guidance!