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name: perplexity-routing description: Routing guide for selecting the correct Perplexity tool. Reference before spawning any Perplexity agent.

Perplexity Tool Selection

Fundamental Distinction

Search API (perplexity-search) = Raw results, NO LLM processing Sonar Models (ask/reason/research/sec) = LLM-synthesized answers with citations

Tool Overview

Decision Tree

Copy├─ Need raw URLs/sources to process yourself?
│  └─ search (ONLY tool with no LLM - see actual articles)
│
├─ Need official SEC filing content?
│  └─ sec (ONLY tool limited to EDGAR: 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, S-1)
│
├─ Simple fact? "What is...", "When is...", "How much..."
│  Examples: consensus EPS, stock price, earnings date, revenue guidance
│  └─ ask (fastest synthesized, best factuality)
│
├─ Reasoning? "Why did...", "Compare...", "What caused..."
│  Examples: why stock fell despite beat, AAPL vs MSFT, margin compression cause
│  └─ reason (chain-of-thought, explains logic)
│
└─ Comprehensive analysis? "Full report on...", "Everything about..."
   Examples: earnings attribution, company deep dive, sector analysis
   └─ research (slowest but most thorough)

Cross-References

Speed/Cost

Workflows

Earnings Analysis: sec (8-K/10-Q actuals) → ask (consensus estimates) → reason (why stock moved)

Stock Move Investigation: search (news from that day) → reason (causal factors) → research (full attribution if needed)

Company Research: ask (market cap, sector, price) → sec (risk factors, MD&A) → research (comprehensive)

Finding Analyst Commentary: search (get article list) → ask (specific question about coverage)