Logos search features and other Logos AI problems fixed by using Perplexity Pro...

Brent Phillips · 2025-07-04T01:34:13+00:00

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Trying to do more than simple and basic Bible searches is rather difficult in Logos. There are too many complex parameters to learn to easily do proximity searches and more. Why isn't there an intuitive "front end" built into Logos to do proximity (and other Bible and Library/Book) searches. It should be easy and intuitive, but the learning curve is just too steep for me. (And, yes, I have been told that if I learn all of the parameters for Logos AI searches I will see how fantastic and powerful Logos is.) What I am doing now is resorting to various free or nearly free Bible programs that do proximity searches. Why can't Logos be that easy? And as far as the Logos AI is concerned, I am not overly impressed. I use Perplexity Pro now and it does a far better job on "smart searches" of both the Bible and everything else. All I have to do is use basic English and tell it what I want and it does it! With Logos I have to learn it's AI "codes and commands." The Perplexity AI summarizing and analyzing feature of any book in my library is light years ahead of anything that Logos AI can currently do. I have worked with Logos AI features and Perplexity beats it every single time, at least as far as my needs are concerned. I have even asked Perplexity specific grammatical question about the New Testament Greek, translation problems, and difficult passages, etc., and it does a very good job.

So, I decided to ask Perplexity about the differences between Logos AI and Perplexity … then I asked what the criticisms of Logos AI are. Perhaps Logos needs to consider what the critics have to say. (Oh yes, Perplexity also said what was good about Logos AI. It was fair and balanced.) I hope that Logos AI will be improved over time, but it has a long way to go to be very helpful for me. By the way, I still LOVE Logos, but its AI features are just not even close to what they could and should be for the average user — in other words it should be easy and intuitive.

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Comments

MJ. Smith

Interesting - I find Logos far more accurate than Perplexity which is my quick AI engine of choice.

Bradley Grainger (Logos)

With Logos I have to learn it's AI "codes and commands."

Can you explain what you mean by this?

Precise Search (which isn't AI) uses "codes and commands" for proximity, etc. "Smart Search", which is AI, doesn't have any "codes or commands"; just type in what you are looking for and Smart Search will find it (in your Bible, or across the entire Logos Library).

What I am doing now is resorting to various free or nearly free Bible programs that do proximity searches. Why can't Logos be that easy?

What's an example of a proximity search from a free Bible program that's much simpler than the equivalent in Logos? Maybe we can improve Logos for this use case.

The Perplexity AI summarizing and analyzing feature of any book in my library is light years ahead of anything that Logos AI can currently do.

This is good feedback, and something we'd like to improve in Logos.

xnman

@Brent Phillips In a way, I understand what you're saying and in a way I don't. I "think" you are talking about "old Logos Search" in what you say and in that I would agree with you that Logos Search was much too complicated and one had to remember far to much to do searches.

But Logos Search has come a long long way since then, thanks mainly ( I think) to Mark Barnes. While Logos Search is not perfect, I find that I can do better searches now with a lot more just "simple English" requests. I think you should honestly give Logos Search another go. And I'm talking about the latest version… not the past versions…

Just my 2 cents.

Brent Phillips

Thank you all for answering and for your help…

As to "codes and commands" I am referring to the parameters, which you use with "precise searches," not with "smart searches." Thanks for clarifying that for me! I must have been doing something wrong, because when I just now went back to Logos and used Smart Search, it found all passages that contained "faith, hope, love" in BOTH a single verse AND within "proximity" … even an "unbounded" proximity — not just a few verses but several. It found entire passages where the terms were used. And it found passages where just two of the words were used. It listed first where all the words were found together, then where only two of the words were found, etc. I don't remember it working like this when the AI product was first released. Oh well, you have definitely cleared things up for me and it is much appreciated!

As to other simpler Bible programs having Proximity Searches, there are the "nearly free" SwordSearcher and Bible Analyzer. They both have intuitive "front ends" and work fairly well. But, now Logos takes care of that for me. Thanks again for everything! I look forward to ongoing improvements with Logos and Logos AI. Blessings to you all!