“Ad programs like this help us generate revenue to share with our publisher partners,” Perplexity wrote in a post on its blog. “Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue-sharing program. [A]dvertising is the best way to ensure a steady and scalable revenue stream.”
Perplexity asserted that answers to these “sponsored questions” will still be generated by its AI — not written or edited by the brands sponsoring the questions. Advertisers also won’t get access to users’ personal info, the company said.