Training course · Perplexity · Leadership & Management

Perplexity for Leaders

AI-powered research with Perplexity: cited answers, source control, Spaces, Deep Research and systematic fact-checking.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“Perplexity for Leaders” is a hands-on course for roles such as Managing directors and board members, Division and department heads and Team leaders. Rather than learning Perplexity in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from Leadership & Management.

Perplexity combines language models with live web search and delivers answers backed by numbered citations. That makes it particularly suited to work where currency and traceability matter: market and competitor monitoring, research into regulation and standards, supplier and partner due diligence, or preparing decision papers. In this practical day you learn to phrase research questions precisely, steer the choice of sources deliberately and use follow-up questions to turn an initial answer into a robust research result.

You work with Spaces, where you group research on a topic, add your own files and set instructions for the team. With Deep Research you produce extensive reports that evaluate many sources and bring them together in a structured way. Quality is a key focus: you learn to assess sources, cross-check claims and recognise typical failure patterns such as outdated or misattributed information. We also address data protection and licensing questions for business use. You leave with a reusable research process tailored to your own function.

For leaders, generative AI matters in two ways: as a personal tool and as a strategic topic for the organisation. Personally, AI helps you grasp decision papers faster, structure strategy documents, prepare difficult conversations and sharpen your own communication. Strategically, leaders must judge where AI creates real value, what risks arise and how to support their teams in building skills. AI agents are changing roles, processes and responsibilities, which calls for clear guardrails, employee participation and an open learning culture. Leaders who have experienced AI hands-on can assess opportunities realistically, steer investment purposefully and lead change credibly.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Managing directors and board members
  • Division and department heads
  • Team leaders
  • Strategy and transformation leads
  • Emerging leaders

Typical challenges we address

  • Information overload from reports, emails and decision papers
  • Uncertainty about where AI realistically adds value in your area
  • Teams with very different levels of AI knowledge and reservations
  • Legal, ethical and employee relations questions when introducing AI

What you will be able to do

  • You phrase precise research questions and steer the choice of sources deliberately.
  • You assess sources by origin, currency and reliability and trace claims back to the original.
  • You organise research in Spaces and combine web sources with your own documents.
  • You use Deep Research to produce structured reports and decision support.
  • Use AI confidently in your day-to-day leadership work for analysis, communication and preparation.
  • Assess AI opportunities and risks in your area realistically and prioritise pilot projects.
  • Lead AI adoption in your team with clear guardrails, participation and upskilling.

Course outline

Module 1 Foundations of AI-powered research
  • How it works: language model, live web search and citations
  • How it differs from a classic search engine and a general chat assistant
  • Framing research questions precisely: time frame, region, source type
  • Follow-ups and drilling down instead of one-off queries
Module 2 Steering and assessing sources
  • Narrowing sources: web, academic literature, your own files
  • Targeting primary sources, official websites and specialist publications
  • Assessing source quality: origin, currency, vested interests
  • Tracing quotes and figures back to the original source
Module 3 Spaces and teamwork
  • Setting up Spaces for topics, projects or client requests
  • Uploading your own documents and combining them with web sources
  • Storing instructions for consistent output formats
  • Sharing research and turning it into pages or reports
Module 4 Deep Research and structured reports
  • Tackling broad questions with Deep Research
  • Producing market overviews, competitor comparisons and topic briefs
  • Turning results into tables, side-by-side comparisons and executive summaries
  • Recognising the limits of in-depth research and refining results
Module 5 Fact-checking, data protection and workflow
  • Systematic fact-checking: counter-research and spotting contradictions
  • Typical failure patterns: outdated, misattributed or fabricated details
  • Data protection, enterprise licences and handling confidential queries
  • A reusable research process and source documentation
Module 6 Practice lab: Leadership & Management
  • Condensing decision papers
  • Strategy sparring
  • Preparing one-to-ones
  • Leadership communication
  • Assessing AI potential
  • More effective meetings
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Introducing AI systems capable of monitoring employee behaviour or performance is subject to co-determination by works or staff councils where these exist, and employee data requires particular protection under the GDPR. The EU AI Act also requires organisations to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff and to scrutinise high-risk applications, for example in HR.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Condensing decision papers

Lengthy reports, business cases and analyses are distilled into key messages, assumptions, risks and open questions so you can form a sound judgement faster and ask targeted follow-up questions.

Strategy sparring

AI acts as a critical sounding board for strategic options, runs through scenarios, formulates counter-arguments and helps surface assumptions and blind spots in plans. The decision remains yours.

Preparing one-to-ones

Guides for feedback, objective-setting or conflict conversations are structured, wording is refined and possible reactions are rehearsed – without entering personal details into unapproved tools.

Leadership communication

Announcements, speeches, change messages and answers to tough questions are drafted for the audience and adjusted in tone, clarity and length for staff, boards or customers.

Assessing AI potential

Together with the team, processes are systematically screened for AI suitability, prioritised by benefit and effort and translated into concrete pilot projects. Success criteria are defined up front.

More effective meetings

Agendas, pre-reads and minutes are prepared with AI, making meetings shorter and more decision-focused while actions are tracked clearly. Recurring formats can gradually be standardised as well.

Prerequisites

Experience with online research in a professional context; no prior AI knowledge is required. Leadership or management responsibility, or preparation for such a role; no technical background required.

Technical requirements

A laptop with an up-to-date browser and a Perplexity account; we recommend Pro or Enterprise access to use Spaces with files and Deep Research in full.

Data protection & compliance

Introducing AI systems capable of monitoring employee behaviour or performance is subject to co-determination by works or staff councils where these exist, and employee data requires particular protection under the GDPR. The EU AI Act also requires organisations to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff and to scrutinise high-risk applications, for example in HR.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 9 December 2026 Berlin Request
  • Mon, 14 December 2026 Online Request
  • Thu, 14 January 2027 Online Request
  • Tue, 26 January 2027 Stuttgart Request
  • Tue, 9 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

How does Perplexity differ from ChatGPT or a search engine?

A search engine returns a list of links, and a general chat assistant often answers from its training data. Perplexity searches the web at the moment you ask, summarises what it finds and backs each statement with citations. That makes it particularly well suited to current, verifiable research – although you still need to assess the sources yourself.

Can I rely on Perplexity's citations?

Citations make verification much easier, but they do not replace it. Occasionally a statement is attributed to a source that does not say quite that, or an outdated page is used. In the course you learn a lean fact-checking routine that lets you quickly verify critical statements against the original source.

Is Perplexity suitable for confidential research within a company?

Enterprise plans offer additional commitments on data use and administration. Even so, you should not put trade secrets or personal data into queries unless your internal policy explicitly allows it. We discuss how to phrase queries so that sensitive details stay protected while the research remains useful.

Why should leaders use AI hands-on themselves?

Only those who have tried AI tools themselves can judge benefits, limits and effort realistically, steer investment sensibly and support their teams credibly. The course therefore combines practical exercises on your own leadership tasks with strategic questions about organisational adoption.

What about works councils and employee representatives?

Where AI systems can be used to monitor employee behaviour or performance, employee representatives usually have co-determination rights. Early involvement, transparent objectives and a framework agreement on AI use have proven effective. In the course we discuss typical provisions and steps towards a trust-based rollout.

How much does “Perplexity for Leaders” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

More courses for Leaders

More Perplexity courses

All 45 Perplexity courses

Perplexity · MunichPerplexity · SalzburgPerplexity · BerlinPerplexity · AugsburgPerplexity · HanoverPerplexity · BremenPerplexity · StuttgartPerplexity · KaiserslauternPerplexity · Online