Tech Desk 
Dec 25, 2024
As 2025 is just a few days away, the digital landscape in 2024 buzzes with several revelations from Perplexity, a platform that has become a pulse reader for global curiosity.
Gadinsider has compiled the most searched topics on Perplexity in 2024, highlighting the key trends and moments that captured the attention of users worldwide.
What is Perplexity?
Perplexity is a popular search assistant that allows users to ask questions and receive detailed answers using artificial intelligence capabilities.
Functioning as both an AI search engine and a knowledge hub, it has cemented itself as a go-to resource for a diverse audience, from tech enthusiasts to casual learners.
Perplexity trending tech searches of 2024
Here are the top tech trends of 2024 based on user searches on Perplexity.
China’s King AI: Text-to-video technology
China’s King AI was one of the most widely discussed technological wonders of 2024, which Kuaishou Technology created. This next-generation text-to-video model enabled users to create dynamic, stunning videos.
The model was capable of producing life-like animations and scenarios, making the globe discuss its potential future in digital content creation.
Google’s “Willow” quantum chip
Google’s release of its “Willow” quantum chip was a big leap in computation power; it sparked controversies about whether or not it is possible to have parallel universes.
This promising innovation towards faster problem-solving capabilities fascinated both scientists and tech geeks, bringing it as one of the widely discussed issues of Perplexity.
ChatGPT’s “forbidden names”
OpenAI’s ChatGPT introduced a curious feature this year: the refusal to process prompts containing certain names. This enigmatic limitation raised eyebrows and fueled widespread speculation about the ethical and technical reasons behind the restriction, driving an influx of related searches on Perplexity.
Shopping tech trends: From smart gadgets to AI-powered devices
Perplexity searches showed people searching more for unique shopping products, which was a technology solution blended with day-to-day practicality. Top-selling tech products included the Apple MacBook Air M3, offering unprecedented performance and efficiency.
Other notable mentions were the Nintendo Switch, being the most favourite one among gamers, Blink Doorbell and the BirdBuddy Feeder, exemplifying the growing popularity of AI-powered smart home devices.
Finance insights
In 2024, Bitcoin broke barriers by tripling in value and crossing $100,000 on December 5. Popular tickers like TSLA, NVDA, DOGE, and XRP experienced a surge in interest, reflecting global financial curiosity.
Broader trends in Perplexity’s 2024 searches
Here are some of the most global trends that people searched over Perplexity in 2024:
US election queries
Nearly 30% of trending searches in the US were election-related, reflecting the country’s politically charged atmosphere. From "What is Project 2025?" to "Who won the debate?", users relied on Perplexity’s Election Information Hub for timely updates.
Global curiosities
Here are some standout memes and moments that people searched about on the Perplexity:
- August: Searches for “What does very demure, very mindful mean?” spiked by 3,233% after a viral event led users to delve into the meaning of these words.
- September: Following Y Combinator founder Paul Graham’s essay on founder archetypes, over 2,700 users searched “What is founder mode?”, exploring the nuances of entrepreneurial mindsets.
- November: The popularity of “lookalike contest” searches grew sixfold since early fall, peaking on November 14th when a Jeremy Allan White lookalike contest went viral.
- Most Searched Pop Star: Taylor Swift dominated the music category, receiving four times more daily searches than any other artist globally.
Regional interests shaped trending queries
- Germany: Popular questions included: "What is the meaning of life?", "What is Dubai chocolate?", and "What is a Talahon?"
- Japan: Money and natural disasters seemed to capture most of the interest, with searches like "What is fixed tax reduction?" and "What is the 10th typhoon?"
- India: These familiar names seem to attract people's most interest followed by tech-related top searches- "Who is Ratan Tata?" "What is cloud computing?".
- South Korea: Cryptocurrency and stock price queries topped the list.
Paris Olympics 2024
Tech met sports as the Paris Olympic Games inspired searches for medal counts and Olympian highlights. Questions about Russia's non-participation and the rise of athletes like Simone Biles and Vinesh Phogat merged the worlds of sport and technology in interesting ways.
