Perplexity AI Updates: April 2, 2026

1. Perplexity Launches Secure Intelligence Institute for AI Safety Research

Perplexity announced the Secure Intelligence Institute (SII), a research initiative focused on AI security, privacy, and safety for frontier systems, autonomous agents, and multimodal technologies. The institute’s first project is BrowseSafe, an open-source benchmark and detection model designed to identify harmful content and threats in AI-driven web environments. Dr. Ninghui Li, a security and privacy researcher, was appointed as inaugural director and will shape both technical defense strategies and policy frameworks. Findings from the institute will integrate back into Perplexity’s products while contributing to broader industry AI security efforts through published research and academic partnerships. Source