Perplexity · Practical walkthrough

Keep Perplexity research together in a Project

A persistent project is helpful until yesterday's source or another client's file follows you into the new answer.

Task by Task12 min read + practice

What you'll make

a Perplexity Project for one research job, holding its files, a short instruction and a source list, plus a follow-up answer that cites only the sources you named.

What you'll need

Perplexity in your work account, with Projects available, and files your organisation lets you upload there. Allow 20 minutes. Keep each client or confidential piece of work in its own Project.

Example result.

Project: Ashgrove Physio – booking software comparison
Files: Bookwell pricing (Sep 2026) · SlotPoint quote for Ashgrove (Sep 2026) · Ashgrove requirements note
Answer: For 18 clinicians, SlotPoint costs £63 a month [SlotPoint quote for Ashgrove]
and Bookwell £72 [Bookwell pricing]. Neither file states a contract length.

1. Give the Project one job and a source list

Pick one piece of work with one audience: a supplier comparison for one client, a market scan for one launch. A Project that mixes clients is a Project that will eventually quote one to the other.

Before you upload anything, write down which files belong and which don’t. Keep it in a note beside the Project; you’ll use it in every question.

Project purpose and audience:
Sources (title, version or date, where from):
Excluded on purpose:
Copied from a connected app (date added):

Why this works: a list you wrote is more reliable than asking Perplexity which of 30 uploads you meant. It also makes the leak in step 3 easy to spot.

What you should see: one sentence of purpose and a short list of named, dated sources.

2. Create the Project and add the files

In the left sidebar, open Projects and select + New project. Give it a title (up to 50 characters) and, if useful, a description. Upload the files on your list, individually or as a folder, or add them from a connected app. Under the Project’s settings you can also add web links and domains to prioritise.

Paste a short instruction into the instructions box:

This project supports [one topic and audience]. Use the named sources for each question. Separate what a source says from your interpretation, and list unresolved points. Keep source titles and dates in citations. Do not use another client's material or assume a copied file is current.

[one topic and audience] is your purpose line from step 1, such as “booking software comparison for Ashgrove Physio’s operations lead”.

Projects are Restricted by default, meaning only people you invite can see them. Leave it that way until step 4 and the sharing check in Go deeper.

Why this works: the instruction carries the habits that stay true for the whole job. Keep prices and dates in the files, not the instruction, so they don’t go stale in a box nobody rereads.

What you should see: the Project in your sidebar with your files listed and the instruction saved.

3. Ask follow-ups that name their sources

Start a new session inside the Project. Perplexity’s help describes the instructions as guiding Computer, its multi-step agent, so for ordinary searches put the source scope in the question too.

For [question], use only [source titles] in this project. Cite the source for each figure or claim. If anything else in the project conflicts, say so rather than blending it in. Leave missing information as unresolved.

[question] is what you need answered, with any figures it depends on (“monthly cost for 18 clinicians”). [source titles] comes from your list.

Why this works: naming the files turns “the project” into a specific set of evidence, and any citation outside that set becomes visible.

What you should see: an answer where every figure cites a file on your list.

4. Refresh copied files on purpose

Files added from a connected app, such as Google Drive or SharePoint, are one-time copies. If someone updates or deletes the original, the copy in your Project doesn’t change. When a source changes, delete the old copy and add the current version, then update its date on your list. Only people with Can edit access can upload or delete files.

Why this works: the list’s date column tells you which copy you’re relying on; the Project won’t warn you that the original moved on.

What you should see: one copy of each source, with dates that match your list.

Check the result

Every citation points to a file on your source list, with the right date.
Figures match the file: open it and compare at least the numbers you’ll repeat.
Missing information is marked unresolved, not filled from elsewhere.

The usual failure: the answer is fluent and cited, but one citation is a file that shouldn’t be there: another client’s quote uploaded by mistake, or an old copy from a connected app. Compare each citation’s title with your list; anything not on it is the leak.

The answer used [wrong file]. Remove every claim that depends on it and rerun using only [correct sources]. List which conclusions changed. Keep unsupported points unresolved, and don't repeat the excluded file's contents.

[wrong file] is the title of the file that shouldn’t be there; [correct sources] is the list from step 1.

Then remove the wrong file from the Project. Telling Perplexity to ignore it doesn’t change who can open it.

Worked example: a booking software comparison that borrowed another client’s price

Fictional example. A consultant compares two booking systems for Ashgrove Physio, which has 18 clinicians. The Project holds:

Bookwell pricing, Sep 2026: £4.00 per clinician per month.
SlotPoint quote for Ashgrove, Sep 2026: £3.50 per clinician per month.
Ashgrove requirements note: 18 clinicians, online booking, SMS reminders.
Northgate Vets – SlotPoint quote, Aug 2026: £2.75 per clinician per month.

The last file belongs to a different client and was uploaded to the wrong Project. The consultant asked for the “monthly cost for 18 clinicians” without naming sources, and got: “SlotPoint is cheapest at £49.50 a month [Northgate Vets – SlotPoint quote].”

The failure. £49.50 is 18 × £2.75, another client’s negotiated price. The citation is real, which is why it looks trustworthy; it just isn’t on Ashgrove’s list.
The repair. The repair prompt, naming the Northgate file and the three Ashgrove sources, gave: “SlotPoint £63 a month (18 × £3.50), Bookwell £72 (18 × £4.00). SlotPoint is cheaper by £9 a month. Neither source gives a contract length.” The consultant then deleted the Northgate file and moved it to its own Project.
The habit. The filled-in list made the leak a two-second check:

Project purpose and audience: booking software comparison for Ashgrove's operations lead
Sources: Bookwell pricing (Sep 2026, supplier site) · SlotPoint quote for Ashgrove (Sep 2026, email) · Ashgrove requirements note (Sep 2026)
Excluded on purpose: anything from other clients
Copied from a connected app: Ashgrove requirements note, added 22 Sep 2026

Task kit for this job: Download (ZIP) · Reusable instructions

Go deeper

Optional training: Check sharing before you invite anyone

Invited people get one of two roles. Can view lets them read the Project, its shared sessions and its files. Can edit also lets them change instructions, files, connectors and people. Viewers can see every file, so remove anything that isn’t theirs to read before you invite them; a second client’s quote is still a second client’s quote even if nobody asks about it.

Personal Pro and Max plans can invite up to five people; Enterprise plans allow far more, and admins may restrict external invites. People without access see a request-to-join banner, so check who you approve.

Optional training: Know what costs credits before you switch things on

Ordinary searches in a Project don’t use credits. Computer, Perplexity’s agent for multi-step tasks, does, once any included weekly usage runs out. Projects also have Brain, a shared memory built from past sessions; Brain runs are billed to the Project’s creator, and the owner chooses whether it runs automatically or manually in the memory section of the Project’s settings. For a source-checked comparison like this one, searches are enough. Turn the others on deliberately, with your organisation’s agreement to any paid usage.

Optional training: Turn a good session into a Project

If a one-off research session turns into an ongoing job, you can start a Project from it. Perplexity suggests a title, description and instructions from the session. Read the suggested instruction before saving it: it may have copied a price or date from the conversation into a box that should only hold lasting habits.