Perplexity Spaces organize AI research with custom instructions, file uploads, and collaboration features for projects.
The challenge of managing research across multiple projects often leads to information scattered across countless browser tabs. Researchers struggle to find relevant sources, reconstruct past conversations, and maintain context across different threads. The need for a centralized system to organize research materials has become essential for effective knowledge work.
Perplexity has introduced Spaces, a dedicated workspace that addresses these organizational challenges. Spaces function as centralized knowledge hubs that combine custom AI instructions, file search, and Computer task management within a single interface. A Space acts as a project-based container where users can store documents, manage conversations, and collaborate with teammates.
The platform offers a structured approach to research organization that eliminates the need for dozens of browser tabs. Users can create separate Spaces for different projects, courses, or topics, ensuring that all relevant materials remain accessible and contextual. This organization system transforms Perplexity from a search tool into a comprehensive research management platform.
Understanding Perplexity Spaces
Spaces are customizable, AI-powered collaboration hubs that allow users to organize, search, and create content around specific topics, projects, or teams. They serve as dedicated knowledge centers where users can combine web search, uploaded files, and tailored AI instructions to streamline research and teamwork.
A Space functions as a centralized knowledge hub where individual users and teams can organize and manage research more effectively. Whether pursuing a personal project or working with colleagues on professional initiatives, a Space provides a structured environment for all research activities. The platform integrates Computer tasks and Ask threads in a single unified thread list, with a type filter allowing focus on either at any time.
The key advantage of Spaces is the ability to group related threads, files, and research into distinct containers for easy management and retrieval. Users can create a Space for each project, course, or recurring task, keeping all relevant materials together. This structure eliminates the fragmentation that occurs when research is scattered across individual conversations and saved links.
Setting Up Your First Space
Creating a Space
To begin, sign in to Perplexity and click the Spaces icon in the left-side panel to open your Spaces menu. Click the "New Space" button to start the creation process. Give your Space a descriptive title that reflects the project purpose, such as "Marketing Strategy Q2" or "Research Literature Review."
An optional description field allows you to specify the space's focus, such as "This space is for developing a marketing strategy for new products in Q2." Additionally, you can set custom AI instructions that apply to all threads within the Space, including tone preferences or formatting guidelines. These instructions help the assistant match the domain or reasoning style your project requires.
Adding Sources and Files
Once the Space is created, you can add sources by clicking "Add Sources" on the right side of the screen. Users can upload documents, add web sources, and connect files from platforms such as Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Box, and Dropbox (for Enterprise users). Paid users can upload files of up to 50 MB, with Perplexity Pro subscribers able to upload up to 50 files per Space.
The platform supports a variety of file types for internal knowledge search, including PDFs, Word documents (DOCX), Excel spreadsheets (XLSX), PowerPoint presentations (PPTX), and CSV files. Each individual file can be up to 25 MB in size. For Enterprise users, files synced from cloud platforms respect the permissions set in the original service.
Using Your Space for Research
Asking Questions and Conducting Research
After setting up your Space with files and sources, you can begin writing queries directly within the Space. The AI can search through your uploaded materials, web sources, and linked content simultaneously. Threads initiated within a Space are saved to that Space, allowing you to revisit and build upon them later.
Before submitting a query, users can choose their search sources. Options include Web for internet results, Files for uploaded documents, Links for added web addresses, or combinations of all three. This flexibility allows you to tailor research scope to specific project needs. You can also attach additional documents temporarily to a specific thread without saving them to the Space.
Running Computer Tasks in Context
Computer tasks created inside a Space automatically inherit its system instructions, files, and linked context. This ensures that automations always work with the right information for that specific project. The default mode when opening a Space is determined by the mode used for your most recent query in that Space.
Users can switch between Ask and Computer modes at any time using the in-Space toggle. This flexibility allows researchers to alternate between conversational queries and more complex task automation within the same organizational context. The unified thread list combines both types of interactions, with type filters available to focus on either at any time.
Continuing Follow-Up Questions
As your project grows, you can continue asking follow-up questions inside the Space. All research conversations remain organized within the Space, creating a complete project history. This approach eliminates the need to search through separate conversations or browser tabs to reconstruct past discussions.
The Space acts as a repository for your documents, AI answers, and research conversations, keeping everything organized for future projects. Users can pin threads and files to a Space, making them visible to all members. A full-text search bar lets you find past threads and files within a Space quickly.
Collaboration Features
Inviting Contributors and Viewers
Spaces support collaboration by allowing users to invite others as viewers or contributors. Invite team members through their email addresses and set permissions on how you want to share the Space. By default, Spaces are private to yourself, but you can open them up to your organization (Perplexity Enterprise) or make them shareable with anyone who has the link.
Perplexity Pro and Perplexity Max users can invite up to five contributors per Space. Contributors can create new threads in the Space or ask follow-up questions in existing ones. Viewers can access and review content without making changes. For Enterprise users, organization admins may restrict Space sharing, and all contributors must be organization members.
Managing Access and Permissions
Access controls are configured through the Share button at the top of the Space screen. You can grant View Access to only invited members, anyone within your organization (Perplexity Enterprise only), or anyone with the link (including users without a Perplexity account). Contributors can be invited and removed at any time through the same Share modal.
Thread sharing within collaborative Spaces defaults to "shared," making it easier to keep everyone in the loop. When you write a query in a shared Space, you can choose to keep it private, share within the Space and organization, or share with anyone who has the link. This granularity allows teams to manage sensitive research appropriately.
Best Practices for Research Organization
Creating Spaces by Topic or Project
For optimal organization, create separate Spaces for each research topic, course, project, or recurring task. Each Space can contain all relevant materials and conversations specific to that subject. This structure ensures that research for different projects remains distinct and accessible.
Students can create a Space for each class, project, or study group, then ask questions or get help on specific tasks. Educators can organize class materials, notes, and assignments, and generate study guides or practice exams from uploaded content. Marketing teams can create Spaces for campaigns, with each Space containing relevant product information, competitor research, and performance data.
Uploading All Relevant Documents
Upload course materials, notes, project documents, and web resources to each Space. This creates a centralized repository that the AI can search when answering queries. The more relevant materials you upload, the more personalized and accurate the responses become.
For Enterprise users, file sync capabilities allow automatic inclusion of files from connected apps including Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Box, and Dropbox. This integration eliminates manual file management and ensures all relevant organizational data is accessible within the Space.
Setting Custom AI Instructions
Each Space allows configuration of custom instructions for every interaction within that Space. These instructions can set tone preferences, domain-specific guidance, or formatting requirements. For example, a legal research Space could instruct the AI to provide formal, citation-heavy responses, while a creative project Space might request more exploratory and idea-generating outputs.
Custom instructions help the assistant match the tone, domain, or reasoning style your project requires. This personalization saves time by reducing the need to specify preferences in each query and ensures consistency across all interactions within the Space.
Using Knowledge Hubs for Repeated Tasks
Spaces are perfect for long-term research, repetitive tasks, or teamwork where you are looking for a place to collaborate. Create reusable Spaces for recurring workflows such as weekly reports, monthly market analyses, or standard research processes. The Space retains all files, instructions, and conversation history, making repeat tasks more efficient.
The knowledge hub approach is particularly valuable for teams that need to maintain consistent outputs across multiple projects. Custom instructions and shared sources ensure that all team members benefit from the same research foundation and contextual guidance.
Conclusion
Perplexity Spaces offer a powerful solution for organizing AI research and collaboration in one centralized location. The platform allows users to create dedicated workspaces for each project, upload documents and web sources, and maintain ongoing research conversations without losing context. Spaces support custom AI instructions, collaboration with teammates, and integration with cloud storage services.
For researchers building Perplexity Spaces knowledge hubs for collaborative research, the platform provides a comprehensive environment for managing complex projects. The ability to keep documents, AI answers, and conversations organized for future reference eliminates the fragmentation that plagues traditional research methods. Spaces transform Perplexity from a simple search tool into a complete research management system.
The rapid adoption of Spaces across education, business, and research reflects the growing need for structured AI-assisted knowledge work. As the platform evolves with new features and capabilities, more teams will integrate Spaces into their research workflows. The right implementation depends on thoughtful organization of Spaces by project or topic, consistent uploading of relevant materials, and effective use of custom instructions and collaboration features.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are Perplexity Spaces and how do they differ from regular Perplexity threads?
Perplexity Spaces are dedicated workspaces that allow individual users and teams to organize, collaborate, and manage research more effectively. Unlike regular threads, Spaces function as centralized knowledge hubs with custom AI instructions, file search, and Computer task management. A Space keeps threads, files, and research organized by project or topic, making it easier to find past conversations and maintain research context. Users can upload files directly to Spaces, set custom instructions that apply to all threads, and invite collaborators to view or contribute. Regular threads exist as isolated conversations, while Spaces provide a structured environment for ongoing research projects.
2. What types of files can I upload to a Perplexity Space and how many?
Paid users can upload files of up to 50 MB per file. Perplexity supports PDF, Word (DOCX), Excel (XLSX), PowerPoint (PPTX), and CSV files for internal knowledge search. Perplexity Pro subscribers can upload up to 50 files per Space. Enterprise Pro and Perplexity Max subscribers can upload up to 500 files per Space, while Enterprise Max subscribers can upload up to 5,000 files per Space. Although PNG and JPEG images cannot be uploaded as sources, you can use them by attaching them directly to a query. Cloud-synced files via connectors count toward these limits.
3. How do I create and share a Space with my team?
To create a Space, click the Spaces icon in the left-side panel, then click "New Space." Enter a title and optional description, and set custom AI instructions if desired. To share, click the Share button at the top of the Space screen. You can grant View Access to only invited members, anyone within your organization (Enterprise only), or anyone with the link. Invite Contributors via the Share modal, set permissions, and use Copy Link for quick sharing. Perplexity Pro users can invite up to five contributors per Space, while Enterprise users have no contributor limits. All contributors must be members of your organization.
4. What are the main use cases for Perplexity Spaces?
Perplexity Spaces are ideal for long-term research projects, team collaboration, personal knowledge management, and education. Students create Spaces for each class, project, or study group, then ask questions, create study guides, and find web resources all in one place. Teams use Spaces to collaborate on reports, proposals, or research projects, with everyone contributing and accessing the same resources. Marketing teams create Spaces for campaigns containing product information, competitor research, and performance data. Educators organize class materials, notes, and assignments, generating study guides or practice exams from uploaded content.
5. How does file search work in Perplexity Spaces?
Perplexity Spaces allows users to upload files that are stored permanently in the Space until manually deleted. When you ask a question in a Space, the AI searches both your uploaded documents and the web, providing answers that draw from both sources. Users can choose their search sources in the search bar: Web for internet results, Files for uploaded documents, Links for added web addresses, or all three combined. For Enterprise users, files synced from connected apps including Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Box, and Dropbox can be queried alongside uploaded files. The file search feature enables personalized, relevant answers that leverage your own research materials.
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