Perplexity, an AI-powered search application, has confirmed the launch of its Publishers’ Program, which aims to ensure news publishers receive proper credit and financial support when their content appears in user search results. This initiative marks a significant step in the startup’s efforts to build a sustainable and mutually beneficial ecosystem for content creators and users alike.
Last week, Perplexity introduced the Publishers’ Program to address the needs of news publishers by sharing ad revenue generated from interactions referencing their content. Businesses can pay to feature their content in new ad spots around the app’s related follow-up feature. Whenever these ads generate revenue, a share will be allocated to the publishers whose content is featured.
The program offers publishers access to content performance analytics through a collaboration with ScalePost.ai, a platform that provides AI-driven analytics for publishers. In addition, participating publishers will receive free access to Perplexity’s API, enabling them to create custom answer engines for their websites. All staff members of these publishers will also benefit from a one-year free subscription to Perplexity's premium enterprise version.
Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, emphasized the importance of creating a scalable and sustainable model that aligns incentives for all parties involved. “We appreciate the publishers who have joined us for this program and provided us with valuable feedback about how it should operate,” said Srinivas. “We have always believed that we can build a system where the whole Internet wins, and this is just the first step.”
The Publishers’ Program represents the first time Perplexity will feature ads within its app, transitioning from its previous reliance on subscriptions for its premium version. The premium service, which costs $20 per month, offered subscribers enhanced AI search capabilities. The upcoming update will introduce ads displayed in related searches. For example, if a user searches for restaurants in their city, a restaurant chain can pay to have its ad featured in the related search section, generating revenue for both the app and the publishers.
Early adopters of the Publishers’ Program include notable names such as Time, Fortune, Entrepreneur, and WordPress. Perplexity is also exploring the possibility of offering bundled subscriptions, allowing users to pay a flat fee for both Perplexity Pro and subscriptions to participating publishers.
Mark Howard, Time’s chief operating officer, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “We are proud to join Perplexity's Publishers’ Program as a launch partner to continue to expand access to reliable information and engage audiences in new ways."
This update comes as Perplexity’s stock continues to rise, bolstered by new capital from prominent investors such as Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy. In April, the company’s valuation soared to $1 billion. Additionally, Perplexity has partnered with SoftBank to expand its AI-powered search application to new users.
However, Perplexity may soon face competition from OpenAI, which recently announced the testing of SearchGPT—a new search feature for ChatGPT that allows users to search the web using conversational, natural language.
