Size a market with cited sources you can check
Perplexity estimates addressable market size and shows the sources behind every number so you can judge the method.
A market size estimate, the assumptions behind it, the sources, and which numbers are guesses.
- 1
Verify the top-down number
Open the source Perplexity cited for the total market. If the page does not contain the number, discard the estimate.
- 2
Sanity-check the filters
If the estimate applies a 10% conversion filter, ask where that 10% came from. Guesses compound fast.
- 3
Use the range, not the midpoint
Market sizing is always a range. Present the low and high, not a false-precision single number.
The prompt to paste
Estimate the addressable market size for this product or service. I need numbers I can check, not a range pulled from a report I cannot read. Product: [describe what you are selling, in one sentence] Geography: [market you are targeting] Customer: [who pays for this] Method: 1. Start with a top-down number: total companies/people in the category (cite the source) 2. Apply filters: what percentage meets the ICP (company size, industry, behavior). Cite each filter's source or mark it as an assumption. 3. Show the math: how you go from total market to addressable market. 4. State the confidence level: which numbers are from primary sources, which are extrapolations, and which are guesses. Return: - Total addressable market (TAM) with the formula - Serviceable addressable market (SAM) if I can narrow geography or segment - Assumptions: the weakest link in the math - Three sources I can open Do not cite a market research report unless you can link to it. Do not invent a percentage. If a filter is a guess, say so and show the range.
Investor decks love market sizes with no methodology. If you cannot explain the math, do not use the number.
Sample case written by Hidden Logic Lab. Not affiliated with Perplexity.
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