Perplexity, the AI-powered search startup, is making waves in the industry with its new “Publishers’ Program.” This program aims to share ad revenue with media partners and could potentially set a new standard for compensating publishers whose work is used to train and power AI systems.
Under this program, publishers will receive a “double-digit percentage” of ad revenue when their content is featured in search results. Initial partners include reputable publications such as Time, Der Spiegel, and Fortune. In addition to the revenue sharing aspect, publishers will also have free access to Perplexity’s Enterprise Pro tier and developer tools.
This move by Perplexity is significant because it presents an alternative to dominant players like Google in the digital advertising space. As Perplexity grows, it could become a significant channel for digital advertising, offering new ad formats and targeting capabilities that traditional search advertising cannot provide.
The adoption of AI-powered search comes with its challenges, as it is more expensive than traditional search. This pushes companies like Perplexity to quickly develop sustainable business models. With the new Publishers’ Program, Perplexity aims to generate revenue primarily through advertising. Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s CBO, acknowledges that the program may impact profit margins but sees it as necessary for long-term success.
This initiative from Perplexity also comes in the wake of recent accusations of plagiarism against the company, including incidents involving Forbes and Wired. However, Perplexity claims that it doesn’t need to license content as it is not training its language model on publishers’ writing. This sets it apart from content licensing deals offered by companies like OpenAI and Google.
Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, praises Perplexity’s revenue split, stating that it is much better than Google’s zero revenue share. This indicates that Perplexity’s program could be attractive to publishers who are looking for fair compensation for their content.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Perplexity’s Publishers’ Program compares to similar initiatives by competitors like OpenAI. Publishers will also be watching closely to see if the program addresses their concerns about AI using copyrighted content.
In conclusion, Perplexity’s new Publishers’ Program is a significant development in the AI-powered search industry. It offers publishers a revenue share of ad revenue when their content is featured in search results, providing an alternative to dominant players like Google. While the program may impact profit margins, Perplexity sees it as necessary for long-term success. It remains to be seen how this program will fare compared to similar initiatives by competitors and if it will satisfy publishers’ concerns about copyrighted content.
