Focus Modes for Specialized Research
Use Perplexity's focus modes — academic, writing, math, video, and more — to get domain-appropriate results.
What Are Focus Modes?
Perplexity offers specialized focus modes that restrict or prioritize specific source types. Instead of searching the entire web, a focus mode searches a curated subset optimized for your research context.
Available Focus Modes
All (default) — Searches the full web. Good general-purpose starting point.
Academic — Prioritizes peer-reviewed papers, preprints, and academic publications via sources like PubMed, arXiv, and Semantic Scholar. Use for literature reviews, scientific claims, and medical questions.
Writing — Optimized for content creation research. Returns editorial content, long-form articles, and authoritative blog posts rather than news or academic papers.
Video — Searches YouTube transcripts. Excellent for finding specific information in technical talks, tutorials, or conference presentations.
Social — Searches Reddit, Twitter/X, and discussion forums. Use for understanding community sentiment, finding authentic user opinions, or discovering niche conversations.
Math — Uses Wolfram Alpha and computational sources. Returns equations, derivations, and numerical answers rather than explanations.
Choosing the Right Focus Mode
| Research Goal | Best Focus Mode | |---------------|----------------| | Scientific evidence | Academic | | Market sentiment | Social | | Blog content ideas | Writing | | Conference presentations | Video | | Financial calculations | Math | | General company info | All |
Academic Focus in Practice
For claims that need evidence: switch to Academic focus and ask for peer-reviewed evidence. This is invaluable when you need to cite sources in reports or validate claims before presenting to leadership.
Example: "Academic: What does peer-reviewed research say about AI's impact on knowledge worker productivity?"
Social Focus for Customer Intelligence
Social focus is underused for business research. Try:
"Social: What are SaaS founders on Reddit saying about their biggest pricing mistakes?"
You get authentic community insights, not polished marketing content.