Searching with Perplexity

Another recent AI answer-generation tool for genealogists and family historians to try is Perplexity (link). It offers a free option and "pro" membership (currently $20 per month). As I have been testing other AI tools such as MyHeritage's AI photos, Ideogram, Claude and Runway, I decided to go ahead and try out Perplexity using the free option.

I made a simple query, asking for sources on Agnes Atherton O'Brien Gillette (sister of my 2nd-great-grandfather), telling the tool she was an actress who lived between 1858 and 1910. The tool returned an initial response that "Agnes Atherton O'Brien Gillette was an actress and performer active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While direct, detailed sources on her are scarce, there are several archival collections and historical theater resources that may contain relevant materials about her life and career." It then suggested that I look at archival and theater collections, such as the Chamberlain and Lyman Brown Theatrical Agent Records at the New York Public Library, general theater and performer archives, and digitized playbills and programs from the era.

Perplexity gave related questions to ask as prompts, such as "what is known about Agnes Atherton O'Brien Gillette's family and personal life". This prompt returned limited sources, and pulled from my own blog when describing her family and early life. I guess that's a good sign that my blog is available as a source.

I'm going to have a separate post detailing the sources I have used to date on Agnes' life, and this list of sources is more along the lines of what I might have expected Perplexity or another search tool to suggest.