AI-powered search engine Perplexity says it’ll begin experimenting with ads on its platform starting this week.
Ads will appear in the U.S. to start, formatted as “sponsored follow-up questions.” (E.g., “How can I use LinkedIn to enhance my job search?”) Paid media will be positioned to the side of answers, and labeled as sponsored.
Brands and agency partners participating in Perplexity’s ad program include Indeed, Whole Foods, Universal McCann, and PMG.
“Ad programs like this help us generate revenue to share with our publisher partners,” Perplexity writes in a post on its blog. “Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue-sharing program. [A]dvertising is the best way to ensure a steady and scalable revenue stream.”
Perplexity asserts that answers to “sponsored questions” will still be generated by its AI — not written or edited by the brands sponsoring the questions. Advertisers also won’t get access to users’ personal info, the company says.
“We intentionally chose these formats because it integrates advertising in a way that still protects the utility, accuracy, and objectivity of answers,” the blog post reads. “These ads will not change our commitment to maintaining a trusted service that provides you with direct, unbiased answers to your questions.”
Perplexity’s embrace of ads stands in contrast to OpenAI’s decision not to launch its AI-powered search tool, ChatGPT Search, with ads. But chief rival Google has similarly experimented with ads in its AI search experience, AI Overviews, recently bringing ads to mobile in the U.S. for select queries.