This study investigates dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as the third generation of solar cells. These cells have gained popularity due to their low production costs, simple manufacturing processes, and acceptable efficiency compared to previous generations. The focus of this research is on the production of activated carbon and the examination of its effect on the performance of the counter electrode in these cells. For this purpose, date seed was used as the raw material for producing activated carbon. The carbonization process yielded approximately 10 grams of activated carbon from 100 grams of date seeds. This activated carbon was then combined with 0.035 grams of xanthan gum and used as the counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. A comparison of the performance between cells made with activated carbon and those combining activated carbon with platinum (AC/Pt) against a reference cell using a pure platinum counter electrode revealed that the best results were achieved with a composition of 70% activated carbon and 30% platinum. In this configuration, the highest short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and output power were recorded. The open-circuit voltage of the simple reference cell was 0.221 V, while in the other fabricated cells, the values were reported as 0.422 V, 0.451 V, 0.587 V, and 0.215 V, respectively. Additionally, the efficiency of the fabricated cells showed an increasing and then decreasing trend compared to the reference cell. This efficiency rose from 0.42 in the reference cell to 0.44 in the cell made with 100% activated carbon and peaked at 1.41 in the AC/Pt composite with 70% activated carbon. However, it decreased to 0.40 and 0.25 in cells with 50% and 30% activated carbon, respectively. The results of this study suggest that an optimized combination of activated carbon and platinum can significantly enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells, offering a cost-effective and efficient alternative to pu