AI-powered search startup Perplexity is rolling out a new “Publisher Program” to share ad revenue with media partners, amid recent plagiarism controversies.
The move marks a shift in how AI companies approach content partnerships, potentially setting a new standard for compensating editors whose work is used to train and power AI systems.
Details:
- Publishers will receive a “double-digit percentage” of advertising revenue when their content appears in search results.
- Initial partners include Time, Der Spiegel and Fortune.
- The program includes free access to Perplexity’s Enterprise Pro tier and development tools.
- Brands can purchase “related follow-up questions” that appear below the initial search responses.
- Ads will be clearly labeled as sponsored.
Perplexity also offers partner publishers:
- Free access to its major language models via API
- Access to Perplexity’s Pro service level for all employees for one year
Why we care. As Perplexity grows, it could become an important new channel for digital advertising, providing alternatives to dominant players like Google. Their AI-powered search could evolve into new ad formats or targeting capabilities that aren’t possible with traditional search advertising.
The big picture. AI-powered search is more expensive than traditional search, pushing companies like Perplexity to quickly develop sustainable business models.
Between the lines. The move follows recent accusations of plagiarism against Perplexity, including incidents involving Forbes and Wired.
However, unlike content licensing deals made by companies like OpenAI and Google, Perplexity says it doesn’t need to license content because it doesn’t train its language model on editors’ writing .
What they say:
- “That’s a much better revenue split than Google’s, which sucks,” says Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic.
- Perplexity CBO Dmitry Shevelenko acknowledges that the program can impact profit margins, but sees it as necessary for long-term success.
- Perplexity intends to make advertising its main source of revenue, Shevelenko said, adding that its goal is to break the search engine model, which historically has not provided media partners with a revenue sharing model.
What to watch. How does this program compare to similar initiatives from competitors like OpenAI and whether it will satisfy publishers’ expectations concerns about AI using copyrighted content.
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About the author
Anu Adegbola was Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. It covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career began with
lead digital marketing campaigns (primarily, but not exclusively, paid search) by strategizing, maximizing ROI, automating repetitive processes, and improving the efficiency of every part of marketing departments through leadership inspiring on the agency side as well as on the client and marketing technology side.
Outside of Search Engine Land article editing, she is the founder of the PPC networking event – PPC Live and the host of weekly PPCChat Roundup podcast.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on SMX (USA), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), BrightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon. , PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.