Language-powered search for the modern web.

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January 20, 2023

Metaphor

8,739

3.3(3)1

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Language-powered search for the modern web.

Overview

Overview Releases Pricing Reviews Prompts Pros & Cons Q&A Alternatives Recommendations

Search39 0

API Semantic Search Web Content Retrieval AI API Embeddings Based Search Link Prediction TransformerFree + from $50/mo

Most popular alternative: Perplexity (618 saves)

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Exa, formerly known as Metaphor, is an AI API designed to connect your AI applications to the internet. Exa is focused on intelligent web search and retrieval.

It uses an embeddings-based search to retrieve relevant web content, giving AI programs access to wide spans of knowledge. The Exa API is primarily known for its flexible search capabilities and its ability to handle a variety of query types, including those requiring semantic understanding.

It uses a state-of-the-art web embeddings model over a custom index for these kinds of queries, as well as traditional keyword-based search for all other types.

Exa allows the user to instantly retrieve full text content from any page in its index. It also offers customization features, such as the ability to apply filters or specify date ranges, which allow search over a subset of the web tailored to the user's needs.

Notably, Exa's search approach is unique as it uses a novel link prediction transformer that suggests links matching the meaning of a prompt. Not only does it improve the search results, but Exa also offers research tools for creating applications like news summarizers, competitor analysis tools, and research information synthesizers.

Overall, Exa is seen as a major advancement in leveraging AI for web search and analysis.

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Initial release

August 20, 2022

Initial release of Metaphor.

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Pricing

Pricing model

Freemium

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$50/month

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Monthly

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3.3(3)1

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Reviews

3.3

Average from 3 ratings.

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Comments(1)

Vanessa Zakeva

🙏 15 karma

Jan 12, 2025

Rated it

the search engine was good, showed some rare sites I like however as of now the site is "Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser console for more information)." :(

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Metaphor was manually vetted by our editorial team and was first featured on January 20th 2023.

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Pros and Cons

Pros

Predicts links not text

Trained on diverse resources

Capability to provide recommendations

Understand expressive language inputs

Able to predict variety of results

Flexible with language models

Can generate resource directories

Inclusive of creative results

Helpful prompts included

User-initiated search capability

Conducive to template-guided browsing

Providing startup-based search results

Understands GPT-3 prompts

Personalized search prompts

Designed for complex query inputs

Specialized queries for physicist profiles

Search results including blog suggestions

Supports research paper predictions

Skillful in identifying instructional resources

Educational resource finding ability

Advanced resource prediction capabilities

Discord integration for sign in

Expression of search query variety

View 18 more pros

Cons

Limited to links prediction

May not understand complex queries

Dependent on included templates

Potential bias towards certain resources

Predictive accuracy may vary

Cannot generate non-web content

Sign-in required via discord

No customization controls

Dependent on JavaScript enabled

View 4 more cons

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Jan 23, 2025

Loved the search engine ideas.

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Grace Lawrence

🙏 12 karma

Mar 16, 2024

I really like the detailed answers with sources, and the explore content on the right. I have been using it a lot from market research for my job and planning my short trip to my neighbor city.

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Kelsey O'Neill

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really like this idea, since 90% of the time I put 'reddit' in my google searches, BUT this had 0 results for simple terms I tried to search

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The hybrid feature is very powerful. I finally don’t need to manage our local knowledge base anymore.

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Phind is amazingly good, combined with VSCode extension it is even better. It just works and it works FOR FREE - without idiotic whining attempts at stealing your money like shitty worse crap is trying to do.

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Q&A

How does Metaphor differ from traditional search engines?

Metaphor stands out from traditional search engines because it is powered by a language model that makes sense of language in a more expressive and creative manner. Unlike its predecessors, Metaphor is designed to understand and respond to prompts, akin to GPT-3 prompts, by predicting the most relevant link that may come after.

What is the language model that powers Metaphor?

The operative core of Metaphor is a language model, similar to the GPT-3 model, that is trained to predict and provide link-based solutions to user prompts.

What type of results can Metaphor provide?

Metaphor is capable of providing a wide array of results, including blog posts, Wikipedia pages, resource directories, demos, startups, books and papers. It can also suggest music and yield other creative outcomes.

How do I use a prompt in Metaphor?

Prompts in Metaphor work in a way similar to GPT-3. Users type their query or statement in a creative and expressive manner, and Metaphor uses its language model to predict the most fitting link that could follow the prompt.

What type of content can Metaphor help me find?

Metaphor can help you find a diverse range of content. Particularly, it can guide you to resources relevant to AI, including languages and classic AI algorithms. It can also lead you to music, blog posts, papers, demos, startups, books, and much more.

Can Metaphor recommend music?

Yes, Metaphor can indeed recommend music. It is trained to predict links to a wide variety of outcomes, including music recommendations.

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What is the advantage of Metaphor for AI-related research?

Metaphor presents an advantage for AI-related research by being more equipped to navigate and understand AI-related contexts. It can provide resources on programming languages and classic AI algorithms, which would be particularly useful for researchers and learners in the field of AI.

How does Metaphor understand language?

Metaphor comprehends language via the form of prompts. Powered by a language model similar to GPT-3, it processes the expressive and creative language used in the prompts and predicts the links that are most likely to match the input.

Why does Metaphor predict links instead of text?

Predicting links instead of text allows Metaphor to provide users with relevant resources directly. Instead of just giving a text-based response to a query, Metaphor will suggest a link that leads to more detailed, useful, and comprehensive information.

What are the Metaphor's templates for?

The templates in Metaphor serve to familiarize users with the search engine. They demonstrate how to leverage the power of Metaphor through prompts and show the vast range of results that the tool can yield.

How does Metaphor cater to creative searches?

Metaphor caters to creative searches through its in-built language model. It intakes elaborate and creative prompts and predicts an assortment of results, from blog posts and Wikipedia pages to demos and music recommendations.

Why do I need to sign in with Discord to use Metaphor?

The need to sign in with Discord to use Metaphor could be to create an user-friendly environment where users can easily access and use the AI-powered search engine. Additionally, it could assist in maintaining user safety and data protection.

Can Metaphor help me find resources for learning philosophy?

Yes, Metaphor can help in finding resources for learning philosophy. It is trained to lead users to an extensive range of resources, including directories for diverse learning fields such as philosophy.

How does Metaphor help in finding blog posts or papers?

Metaphor aids in locating blog posts or papers by predicting links related to the input prompt. Users communicate their search inquiry in the form of creative prompts, and Metaphor responds with the most fitting links.

Can Metaphor provide me with website or startup recommendations?

Yes, Metaphor has the ability to provide recommendations for websites or startups. It can predict links that lead to the websites of startups, especially those working on AI and related fields.

Can Metaphor help me find a book based on a conversation?

Yes, Metaphor can assist you in finding a book based on a conversation. When giving Metaphor a creative prompt worded as a dialogue, it uses its language model to anticipate and provide a fitting link, which can be a book recommendation.

Can Metaphor assist in finding resources for complex topics like quantum mechanics?

With its robust language model, Metaphor is equipped to assist in finding resources for intricate topics, such as quantum mechanics. It can suggest links to foundational papers and other related resources on the subject.

Does Metaphor have a feature to recommend popular blogs?

Yes, Metaphor possesses a feature that recommends popular blogs. By predicting links related to prompts, it can yield the addresses of favored blogs and other similar resources.

How does Metaphor handle requests for explanations of complex algorithms?

Metaphor addresses requests for explanations of complex algorithms by predicting a link that would ideally offer a detailed explanation. This accelerates the process of finding specific, in-depth information on the required algorithms.

Can Metaphor suggest books on specific learning topics, like drawing or the history of the American economy?

Metaphor is equipped to suggest books on specialized learning topics, such as drawing or the history of the American economy. Users can simply insert a creative prompt about their learning interest, and Metaphor will predict and provide relevant links, including book recommendations.

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