Perplexity User Management API Guide

Auth method: Bearer token (API key issued per user from Settings → API)

Setup steps

1. Log in to perplexity.ai and navigate to Settings → API.
2. Generate an API key.
3. Pass the key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header: 'Authorization: Bearer '.

User object field mapping is not yet verified for this app.

Chat Completions (only documented public endpoint)

• Method: POST
• URL: https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions
• Watch out for: This is an AI inference endpoint, not a user-management endpoint. No user CRUD endpoints are exposed via the public REST API.

Request example

POST /chat/completions
Authorization: Bearer <key>
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "model": "sonar",
  "messages": [{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}]
}

Response example

{
  "id": "chatcmpl-abc123",
  "model": "sonar",
  "choices": [{"message":{"role":"assistant","content":"Hi!"}}]
}

• Rate limits: Rate limits are model-dependent and tier-dependent. Perplexity does not publish a single universal rate limit; limits are enforced per API key and vary by model and subscription plan.
• Rate-limit headers: Unknown
• Retry-After header: Unknown
• Rate-limit notes: Perplexity's public API docs do not specify exact RPM/TPM limits. Exceeding limits returns HTTP 429. Check response headers for retry guidance.
• Pagination method: none
• Default page size: Not documented
• Max page size: Not documented
• Pagination pointer: Not documented

• Webhooks available: No
• Webhook notes: Perplexity does not document any webhook system in its public API or help center as of the policy date.
• Alternative event strategy: Use SCIM provisioning events via your IdP (Okta, Entra ID, Google Workspace) to track user lifecycle changes.

• SCIM available: Yes

• SCIM version: 2.0

• Plan required: Enterprise Pro with 50+ seats OR any plan with at least one Enterprise Max seat

• Endpoint: Provided by Perplexity upon Enterprise SSO/SCIM setup (not publicly listed; obtained from admin console or Perplexity support)

• Supported operations: Create user (POST /Users), Update user (PATCH /Users/{id}), Deactivate/deprovision user (PATCH /Users/{id} active=false), List users (GET /Users)

Limitations:

• SSO must be configured before SCIM can be enabled.
• IdP-initiated sessions are not natively supported.
• Supported IdPs: Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace. OneLogin not officially supported.
• SCIM endpoint URL and bearer token are issued only after Enterprise SSO activation; not self-serve for sub-50-seat plans.
• Group provisioning support is not explicitly documented in public help articles.
• SCIM is not available on Free or Pro ($20/mo) plans.

Provisioning via Okta SCIM: Confirm Enterprise Pro (50+ seats) or Enterprise Max eligibility, complete SSO configuration in the admin console, retrieve the SCIM base URL and bearer token, configure the Perplexity SCIM app in Okta with those credentials, then assign users.

Okta sends POST /Users to the SCIM endpoint; the user receives access tied to their SSO identity. If SSO is not configured first, SCIM provisioning will fail at the IdP handshake.

Deprovisioning via Entra ID: Remove or disable the user in Entra ID or unassign them from the Perplexity enterprise app. Entra sends PATCH /Users/{id} with active=false; Perplexity deactivates access and invalidates the SSO session on next login. Whether the seat license is automatically released or requires a manual admin action is not documented - confirm with Perplexity support before relying on automated seat reclamation.

AI inference integration: Generate an API key from Settings → API, POST to https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions with Authorization: Bearer , specify a model (e.g., sonar or sonar-pro) and a messages array, and parse choices[0].message.content. This endpoint has no capability to manage users, seats, or org settings; those operations require SCIM through an IdP, not the public API key.

Provision a new employee via Okta SCIM

1. Ensure Enterprise Pro (50+ seats) or Enterprise Max plan is active.
2. Configure SSO in Perplexity admin console (SAML/OIDC via Okta).
3. Obtain SCIM base URL and bearer token from Perplexity admin console.
4. In Okta, add the Perplexity SCIM app, enter the base URL and token.
5. Assign the new employee to the Okta app; Okta sends POST /Users to Perplexity SCIM endpoint.
6. User receives Perplexity access tied to their SSO identity.

Watch out for: If SSO is not yet configured, SCIM provisioning will fail. SSO must be the first step.

Deprovision a departing employee via Entra ID SCIM

1. Remove or disable the user in Microsoft Entra ID (or unassign from the Perplexity enterprise app).
2. Entra ID sends PATCH /Users/{id} with active=false to the Perplexity SCIM endpoint.
3. Perplexity deactivates the user's access; their SSO session is invalidated on next login attempt.

Watch out for: Deprovisioning only deactivates the account; confirm with Perplexity support whether seat licenses are automatically released or require manual admin action.

Use Perplexity public API for AI search in an application

1. Generate an API key from perplexity.ai Settings → API.
2. Send POST https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions with Authorization: Bearer .
3. Specify a model (e.g., 'sonar' or 'sonar-pro') and messages array.
4. Parse the response choices[0].message.content for the AI-generated answer.

Watch out for: This endpoint is for AI inference only. It cannot be used to manage users, seats, or org settings. User management requires SCIM via an IdP.

The most consequential architectural trap is assuming the public API key grants any administrative capability. It does not. Developers building identity graph pipelines or user lifecycle automation against Perplexity must route all provisioning through SCIM 2.0 - there is no REST alternative.

Any integration that attempts to infer user state from chat completions API activity will produce an incomplete identity graph, since the inference endpoint carries no user management signals.

SCIM group provisioning support is not explicitly documented in public help articles, which creates ambiguity for teams that rely on group-to-role mapping to populate their identity graph with role assignments at scale. The binary Admin/Member model limits what role-level data the identity graph can capture - there are no granular entitlements to sync.

IdP-initiated sessions are unsupported, meaning SP-initiated flow is the only valid authentication path. Integrations or monitoring tools that expect IdP-side session events to trigger identity graph updates will not receive them from Perplexity. Webhook support is also absent; the only event-driven path for user lifecycle changes is SCIM provisioning events surfaced through the IdP itself.