Perplexity copies Google ads

After announcing they’d be launching AI ad features in the fourth quarter of this year, AI search start-up, Perplexity, has followed in Google’s footsteps (who recently launched similar AI ads for its AI Overviews feature) and revealed they are beginning to roll out AI-powered ads (to US users initially) this week.

The ads will be AI-generated (advertisers will not be able to write or edit these ads), clearly labelled ‘sponsored’, and appear, to the side of the AI-generated search results, in the style of follow-up questions, as Perplexity is committed to giving users “direct, unbiased answers to questions” and eel this ad format “protects the utility, accuracy, and objectivity of answers.”  

Whilst several big brands have already signed up for Perplexity's ad program—including Indeed, Whole Foods, Universal McCann, and PMG—experts believe that many adversities will choose to give it a miss, after news publications have called the company out for plagiarism, content kleptocracy, and failure to credit or attribute original content. Despite this, Perplexity has made the bold claim that its ad space is a “premium alternative” to Google, as it reaches “educated, high-income consumers.”

A lot is riding on these ads, for Perplexity, as it currently only has one revenue stream: Its Premium subscription service, which it’s openly acknowledged isn’t enough: “Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue-sharing program. Advertising is the best way to ensure a steady and scalable revenue stream.”