However, Perplexity's success could potentially escalate its ongoing legal battle with media companies, particularly Dow Jones, who claims the startup is competing for the same audience. Despite attributing its sources, Perplexity has not announced any revenue-sharing partnerships with media outlets. The article concludes by stating that AI chatbots will continue to play a role in future elections, and accuracy will be crucial for their success. Currently, Perplexity is leading the way in this new field.
Key takeaways:
- Two AI startups, xAI and Perplexity, attempted to use their AI chatbots as real-time sources of information during a presidential election. While xAI's Grok failed, Perplexity was successful, offering real-time election insights and maps throughout the night.
- Perplexity's approach was different from other AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini, which refused to answer election-related questions. Perplexity has been testing its Google competitor in the real world since December 2022 and felt confident enough to cover the election.
- Despite its success, Perplexity's approach could potentially harm its ongoing legal battle with media companies, specifically Dow Jones, who claims the startup competes with media companies for the same audiences. Perplexity's election hub was a destination on election night, potentially drawing audiences away from media outlets.
- Perplexity's success during the election night could be a sign of things to come, with AI startups fighting to deliver information to people in new, faster, more concise ways. Accuracy will be key to success in this area, and currently, Perplexity has the early lead.