Perplexity has launched a new election tracker aimed at providing reliable information during the U.S. general elections

Acknowledging its occasional inaccuracies, the AI-driven search engine is making a bid for trustworthiness with this dedicated hub.

In a recent announcement, Perplexity introduced a platform that aggregates election data sourced from The Associated Press and Democracy Works. The company describes this hub as a key resource for understanding critical election issues.

Starting Tuesday, the hub will offer real-time updates on presidential, Senate, and House races at both state and national levels, thanks to data from The Associated Press. Perplexity expressed gratitude to Democracy Works for granting access to their Elections API, which supports these features.

At this time, Perplexity has not disclosed whether it compensates the AP or Democracy Works for their data contributions.

The election hub is designed to address queries about voting requirements, polling hours, and provides AI-generated summaries of ballot measures, candidates, policy positions, and endorsements. While it primarily acts as a presentation layer for data from its partners, it distinguishes itself from competitors, many of whom hesitate to provide similar services due to concerns about potential misinformation from AI.

For instance, OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Search directs users seeking election information to The Associated Press and Reuters, while Anthropic’s Claude chatbot and Google’s Gemini refrain from answering election-related queries altogether.

Given the history of AI inaccuracies in this domain, it’s crucial for Perplexity’s hub to meet its claims of reliability. A study conducted in July by the Center for Democracy and Technology revealed that over a third of responses to 77 election-related questions from various AI chatbots, including Claude and Gemini, contained inaccuracies. Additionally, other research indicated that chatbots struggle even more when addressing questions about elections from users facing accessibility challenges or those for whom English is a second language.