Perplexity is probably the most useful AI tool for non-technical people right now. Ask it anything, and you get a well-sourced, synthesized answer with citations. It's what Google should have become.
The Pro tier adds access to better models and more complex research capabilities. For business research, competitor analysis, or just answering 'how do I...' questions — it's genuinely replaced a lot of manual Googling. The main limitation: it's better at finding and synthesizing existing information than generating new ideas.