2026-09-15 — Tutorials · Perplexity

Monitor Perplexity answers with an API

Perplexity is the most citation-forward AI engine: every answer is built around numbered sources. That makes it the best early signal for AI-visibility work — and the easiest to validate, because the citations are the product.

The endpoint

curl -X POST https://api.answerline.dev/v1/monitor/perplexity \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "Which project management tools do agencies use?",
    "country": "GB",
    "include": { "markdown": true }
  }'

The response carries the answer as text and markdown, plus the parts that make Perplexity distinct:

• sources[] — every cited page, in display order, with URL, label and description
• citationPills[] — the grouped citation chips the UI shows, unpacked
• related_queries[] — the follow-up searches Perplexity suggests
• search_model_queries[] — the searches it actually ran
• videos[], images[], places[], hotels[], shopping_cards[] — the rich blocks, when it shows them

Python

from answerline import Client

client = Client(api_key="sk_…")
res = client.monitor.perplexity(
    prompt="Which project management tools do agencies use?",
    country="GB",
)
for s in res["result"]["sources"]:
    print(s["position"], s["url"])

TypeScript

import { Client } from "@answerline/sdk";

const client = new Client({ apiKey: "sk_…" });
const res = await client.monitor.perplexity({
  prompt: "Which project management tools do agencies use?",
  country: "GB",
});
console.log(res.result.sources.map((s) => s.url));

Running it at volume

Sync calls wait for the full answer. For a prompt set — daily brand checks, a category watchlist — queue them as async tasks with a webhook, and results land as each completes:

[{ "taskType": "PERPLEXITY", "payload": { "prompt": "…", "country": "US" }, "idempotencyKey": "acme-us-2026-09-15", "webhookUrl": "https://you.example/hook" }]

Citation order is the metric to watch: Perplexity’s position is literally what the user sees numbered. Track it per prompt, per market, over time — that’s your Perplexity citation share.

See every field on the Perplexity engine page and in the API reference.

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