The problem
Before ordering stock of a new product, a seller needs to know the UK safety and labeling rules, who else sells it and what buyers complain about. If a seller looks at 4 product ideas a month and researching each takes 4 hours across dozens of tabs, that's 16 hours a month, and a missed rule can leave stock that can't be sold.
What the AI does
Perplexity Pro's Deep Research produces a longer report with inline citations. The seller asks for the UK safety and labeling rules for the product, the main competing brands, common complaints in reviews, and suppliers that publish minimum orders, with a link for each point. The seller opens every source, checks the rules on GOV.UK or the Office for Product Safety and Standards, and keeps each product's research in a Perplexity Project. Sales, fees and category requirements come from Seller Central, which Perplexity can't see.
A worked example
A one-person Amazon seller in Leicester selling kitchen gadgets looks at about 4 new product ideas a month. The owner runs Deep Research on each in Perplexity Pro before asking suppliers for samples.
Before
4 hours of research for each of 4 product ideas: 16 hours a month
After
About 1.5 hours each, including reading the official rules: 6 hours a month
What it's worth
About $333£250€298A$480C$470 a month in time saved, against about $17£13€15A$25C$24 for Perplexity Pro. 2.5 hours saved on each of 4 product ideas is 10 hours, at an assumed $33£25€30A$48C$47 an hour.
How to set it up
- Sign up for Perplexity Pro, $17 (about $17£13€15A$25C$24) a month billed annually.
- For each product idea, run one Deep Research question covering UK rules, competing brands, review complaints and suppliers, asking for a link for every point.
- Open each source and check product safety and marking rules on GOV.UK, not in a supplier's or blog's summary.
- Check sales, fees and category requirements in Seller Central, which Perplexity can't see.
- Keep each product's research in a Project so you can compare ideas before ordering samples.
What goes wrong
- Sales figures quoted on the web are third-party estimates. Don't base an order on them.
- Rules for toys, electricals or cosmetics are specific and change. A cited summary isn't compliance: read the official guidance and get the product tested where required.
- A supplier's claims about certification need the certificate itself, not a web page saying so.
- The free plan's Deep Research is limited, so 4 full reports a month needs Pro.