The test of ads will begin in the U.S., with ads clearly labeled as “sponsored”. The company assured that the content of the answers received on Perplexity will not be influenced by advertisers and users’ personal information will not be shared with advertisers. Perplexity AI is also venturing into ecommerce with a new feature called “Pro Shop,” allowing people to research and purchase products from merchants directly via its platform.
Key takeaways:
- Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence startup, is moving forward with plans to test ads within its search results, with partners including Indeed, PMG, Universal McCann, and Whole Foods Market.
- The company revealed that 40% of its queries were made up of related questions suggested after users asked questions, and its AI search engine would begin surfacing both organic and brand-sponsored related questions.
- Perplexity AI is processing more than 230 million queries per month worldwide and plans to use a CPM model for its ad strategy, with a minimum guarantee to ensure brand exclusivity within categories.
- The company has faced criticism from publishers such as Condé Nast, Forbes, The Guardian, and The New York Times over their content being accessed and repurposed by its bots and crawlers, and is also exploring ecommerce with a new feature called “Pro Shop”.