Perplexity has partnered with PayPal to turn its AI chatbot into a shopping hub where you can not only search what to buy, but actually check out on the spot. There's a limited-time 50% back PayPal promo to sweeten your first purchase as well.
The offer runs over Black Friday through Cyber Monday, gives up to $50 back in PayPal Rewards, and only applies when you use PayPal via Perplexity’s new Instant Buy flow with select merchants.
What is Perplexity shopping?
Perplexity shopping is a free built‑in mode that lets you search for products in your natural language through its 'conversational search'. Meaning you can phrase it like you’d talk to a person, rather than typing short keywords.
It also refines picks through follow‑up questions, instead of manually combing through dozens of tabs.
It keeps track of your context using budget, use case, style, prior queries, and even pulls in real‑time product data from partnering merchants so recommendations feel personalized rather than like a static list of affiliate links.
As part of this, PayPal has made its merchants discoverable directly inside Perplexity, so U.S. users see their catalogs show up in results when they search in the new shopping experience.
Once you’ve found something you like, Instant Buy lets you pay right there in the chat with PayPal, while the retailer stays the merchant of record for shipping, returns, and support.
Perplexity also offers more advanced flows for paying with cards, but the PayPal tie‑in is really just about adding secure wallet checkout, and buyer protections directly on top of that conversational shopping experience.
How to get the deal
As of November 25, through December 1, eligible U.S. users can get 50% back in PayPal Rewards on their first qualifying Instant Buy purchase made with PayPal, up to $50 in value.
The rewards usually appear in your PayPal Rewards balance within around 14 days and can be converted to cash or other redemptions within PayPal.
Not everyone can qualify for this feature as there are a few obligations to watch for: You must be at least 18, have a personal PayPal account in good standing, and be located in the U.S. or eligible territories.
You also have to check out specifically using the 'Pay with PayPal' option on an Instant Buy product from participating merchants like Wayfair, Abercrombie & Fitch, and thousands of stores on platforms such as BigCommerce, Shopware, and Wix.
Only one reward is allowed per PayPal account, the promo is capped at a total of 60,000 rewards across all users, and PayPal can change or end the offer at its discretion.
This means once that rewards pool is exhausted, new purchases stop earning 50% back even if you’re still within the advertised dates.
Check out the terms and conditions to see all of the rules attached.
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