Perplexity AI launches election hub with tracker ahead of the vote
Perplexity has launched a dedicated hub to track the U.S. general election ahead of Tuesday’s vote. The AI-powered search engine plans to provide live election updates using data from The Associated Press and Democracy Works as “an entry point for understanding key issues, voting intelligently, and tracking election results.”
In a blog post, Perplexity wrote that it will answer any election-related questions using a curated set of sources. The company added: “You can ask about topics like voting requirements, how to find your polling place, and poll times, as well as receive detailed, AI-summarized analysis on ballot measures and candidates, including official policy stances and endorsements.”
It’s almost election day! While the presidency gets the most attention, Perplexity’s here to help you make an informed vote on all ballot items, including statewide and local.
We’ve curated a trusted set of sources to answer all election-related queries: https://t.co/ERtkwpo8yj pic.twitter.com/FfptvEw9KN
— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) November 1, 2024
The hub provides information on what’s on the ballot for any location you enter, such as an address or city. There are also tabs for tracking election results for the President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House, starting Tuesday. These include state-by-state breakdowns showing the percentage of votes counted and the current leading candidates.
At the time of writing, the hub seems to have resolved some earlier issues, such as mistakenly listing Robert F. Kennedy on the ballot despite his August withdrawal. It also previously displayed a candidate named “Future Madam Potus,” which, when clicked, led to a page for President Kamala Harris’ candidacy—though with some meme images not normally found in her official profile.
Are other AI-powered search engines tracking the election?The errors point out the difficulty of relying on accuracy-challenged generative AI for such a high-stakes use case, which is why other AI companies have largely avoided it. ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Google Gemini each redirect voter information inquiries to other trusted resources.
When asking ChatGPT, it came up with a summary with links to other sources, and stated: “For the most complete and up-to-date information about the U.S. Election, please visit news sources like The Associated Press, Reuters, or check with your state or local election authority.”
Microsoft’s Copilot simply responded: “It’s really anyone’s game at this point.”
Similarly, Google’s Gemini refused to answer, stating: “I can’t help with responses on elections and political figures right now. While I would never deliberately share something that’s inaccurate, I can make mistakes. So, while I work on improving, you can try Google Search.”
ReadWrite has reached out to Perplexity for comment.
Featured image: Perplexity AI via YouTube / Canva
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