How to report a Perplexity bug effectively (what to include)

Step-by-Step Guide to Reporting a Perplexity Bug

Reporting a bug effectively is not about writing a long essay — it is about giving the support team exactly the information they need to reproduce and fix the issue. Follow these steps to submit a report that gets resolved quickly.

Step 1: Confirm It Is a Bug, Not a Configuration Issue

Before reporting, spend 5 minutes ruling out common non-bug causes. A bug report that turns out to be a configuration issue wastes time for both you and the support team.

1. Open an incognito or private browsing window (Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N)
2. Navigate to perplexity.ai and log in
3. Try to reproduce the issue in the incognito window
4. If the issue disappears in incognito, it is likely caused by a browser extension or cached data — not a bug in Perplexity itself
5. Check perplexity.ai/status — if there is an active incident matching your issue, it is a known outage rather than a bug you need to report separately
6. Try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari) to see if the issue is browser-specific

Only proceed with a bug report if the issue persists in an incognito window, on a different browser, or after checking the status page.

Step 2: Collect the Required Information

A complete bug report includes six pieces of information. Gather all of them before writing your email.

Required information checklist:

1. Exact error message — copy and paste the full text of any error message, or describe precisely what you see (for example: "The search bar spins for 30 seconds and then shows a blank white page with no error message")
2. Time and date — the exact time (including timezone) when the error occurred, such as "2026-05-17 at 2:34 PM Eastern Time"
3. Your environment — your operating system and version (Windows 11, macOS 15.3, Ubuntu 24.04), your browser name and version number (found at browser's About page), and your Perplexity plan (Free, Pro, or Enterprise)
4. Steps to reproduce — a numbered list of the exact actions you took before the error appeared (for example: "1. Go to perplexity.ai, 2. Click New Search, 3. Type 'latest AI news,' 4. Click the Pro Search toggle, 5. Press Enter — error appears")
5. Incognito test result — whether the bug reproduces in an incognito window or only in your regular browser
6. Screenshot or screen recording — a screenshot showing the error message or the broken state of the UI; a screen recording is even more helpful for bugs that involve a sequence of events

Step 3: Write an Effective Bug Report Email

Send your report to support@perplexity.ai using this format:

Subject line: Bug: [short description] — [browser/OS] Example: Bug: Pro Search shows blank response for science queries — Chrome 124 / Windows 11

Email body structure:

• Summary (1-2 sentences): What is broken and how it affects your use of Perplexity
• Steps to reproduce (numbered list): Exact steps that cause the bug
• Expected behavior: What should happen
• Actual behavior: What actually happens, including the exact error message
• Environment: OS, browser version, Perplexity plan, any extensions installed
• Frequency: Does this happen every time, or intermittently?
• Incognito result: Does the bug reproduce in incognito?
• Screenshot or recording: Attach any visual evidence

Step 4: Report Widespread Issues on X (Twitter) as Well

For bugs that appear to affect many users simultaneously — such as a site-wide outage, Pro Search being down, or citations broken for everyone — posting on X gets faster acknowledgment.

1. Go to X (Twitter) and compose a post
2. Tag @perplexity_ai in your post
3. Briefly describe the issue: what is broken, when it started, and what you see
4. Include a screenshot if possible
5. Check whether other users have already posted about the same issue — if so, reply to confirm you are also affected, which adds signal to the team

Note: X posts are for visibility and community confirmation, not for account-specific issues. Do not include private account information in public posts.

Step 5: Follow Up If You Do Not Receive a Response

If you do not receive any response within 48 business hours:

1. Reply to your original support email — do not send a new email, as this can split your issue into two separate tickets
2. Ask for an update on the status of your report
3. Add any additional information you may have gathered since the original report
4. If the issue is still happening, note that and confirm whether any workarounds have or have not worked

What to Include: Complete Checklist

Use this checklist when writing your bug report:

• Exact error message text (copy-pasted, not paraphrased)
• Date and time of the bug (with timezone)
• Operating system and version
• Browser name and version number
• Perplexity plan (Free or Pro)
• Numbered reproduction steps
• Expected vs. actual behavior
• Whether the bug occurs in incognito mode
• Whether the bug occurs on a different browser
• Whether the bug occurs on a different network
• Screenshot or screen recording
• Account email address (if the bug is account-specific)
• API key prefix if the bug is API-related (first 8 characters only)

Why This Happens

Bug reports without enough detail are the primary reason bug fixes take longer than necessary. When the support team receives an email that says "the search is broken," they have no way to reproduce the issue, cannot determine whether it is user-specific or widespread, and must spend one or two follow-up emails collecting basic information before any investigation can begin. A complete report — with exact steps, browser version, and a screenshot — allows the support team to attempt reproduction immediately, which cuts the resolution time from days to hours for straightforward bugs. For bugs that depend on a specific account state or data, the account email address is the single most important piece of information, as it allows the team to inspect the account directly.

Expected Response Times

Understanding Perplexity's support response patterns helps you plan accordingly:

• Automated acknowledgment: Within minutes of submitting to support@perplexity.ai
• First human response: Within 24 to 48 hours on business days (Monday through Friday)
• Bug confirmation: Varies — simple reproducible bugs may be confirmed within the first reply; complex account-state-dependent bugs may require 2 to 3 exchanges
• Fix deployment: Not communicated directly to individual reporters — check perplexity.ai/status for service-level fixes; product-level bug fixes are not individually announced
• Widespread outages: Usually acknowledged on perplexity.ai/status and @perplexity_ai on X within 30 to 60 minutes of occurrence; resolved typically within a few hours

If you have not received a response after 3 business days, it is appropriate to reply to your original thread asking for a status update.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Sending vague descriptions like "it does not work." The support team needs to reproduce the bug, which requires knowing exactly what actions trigger it. Always include numbered reproduction steps.
• Not including your browser version. Bugs are often browser-specific. Chrome 120 and Chrome 124 can behave very differently. The exact version number is essential for the engineering team to test the same environment.
• Reporting a bug before checking the status page. If perplexity.ai/status shows an active incident, your bug is already known. Sending a report during an active incident adds noise to the support queue without speeding up the fix.
• Only posting on Reddit without emailing support. Reddit posts are useful for community confirmation but are not a formal bug channel. The engineering team is not obligated to act on Reddit posts. Always email support@perplexity.ai.
• Attaching full payment details or passwords. Never include full card numbers or account passwords in a support email. Use the last 4 digits of your card and a description of the transaction for billing bugs.
• Starting a new email thread for each follow-up. Always reply to your original email thread. Starting new threads fragments your issue and can result in slower service as agents try to piece together the conversation history.

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