AI-powered search engine Perplexity says it’ll begin experimenting with ads on its platform starting this week.
The site will start showing ads in the U.S. to start, and they’ll be formatted as “sponsored follow-up questions.” (E.g., “How can I use LinkedIn to enhance my job search?”) These ads 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 wrote 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 asserted that answers to these “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 said.
Perplexity’s embrace of ads stands in contrast to OpenAI’s decision not to launch its AI-powered search tool, ChatGPT Search, with ads. Rival Google has similarly piloted ads in its AI search experience, AI Overviews — recently showing ads for certain queries on mobile in the U.S.
