Perplexity, an AI Startup Attempting To Challenge Google, Plans To Sell Ads (adweek.com) 25
An anonymous reader shares a report: Generative AI search engine Perplexity, which claims to be a Google competitor and recently snagged a $73.6 million Series B funding from investors like Jeff Bezos, is going to start selling ads, the company told ADWEEK. Perplexity uses AI to answer users' questions, based on web sources. It incorporates videos and images in the response and even data from partners like Yelp. Perplexity also links sources in the response while suggesting related questions users might want to ask.
These related questions, which account for 40% of Perplexity's queries, are where the company will start introducing native ads, by letting brands influence these questions, said company chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko. When a user delves deeper into a topic, the AI search engine might offer organic and brand-sponsored questions. Perplexity will launch this in the upcoming quarters, but Shevelenko declined to disclose more specifics. While Perplexity touts on its site that search should be "free from the influence of advertising-driven models," advertising was always in the cards for the company. "Advertising was always part of how we're going to build a great business," said Shevelenko.
These related questions, which account for 40% of Perplexity's queries, are where the company will start introducing native ads, by letting brands influence these questions, said company chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko. When a user delves deeper into a topic, the AI search engine might offer organic and brand-sponsored questions. Perplexity will launch this in the upcoming quarters, but Shevelenko declined to disclose more specifics. While Perplexity touts on its site that search should be "free from the influence of advertising-driven models," advertising was always in the cards for the company. "Advertising was always part of how we're going to build a great business," said Shevelenko.
So... no improvement? (Score:4, Interesting)
Same shit, same ads?
Hard pass. Hope they fail.
Re:So... no improvement? (Score:5, Funny)
"by letting brands influence these questions"
Au contraire mon frere. Speaking as an easily influenced low-information consumer, this is exactly the search engine I've been waiting for.
Thanks Perplexity!
Re: (Score:2)
No no no, this one uses AI so it will, you know... er.. well anyway you get the idea.
Besides didn't you just buy a washing machine? You seem like the kind of discerning gentleman who is in the market for washing machines in general, so I'm sure you'd be interested in adding one or two of these fine models to your collection.
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No no no, this one uses AI so it will...
...not only provide ad-riddled but also wrong answers.
Yeah, that's what I'm after.
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Yeah, that's what I'm after.
Well, good job, because I suspect that's what you will get!
Re: (Score:2)
C'mon, yes, I know it's hard to convey sarcasm in a written medium, but ... really? You need an indicator in that?
Re: (Score:2)
I assumed from the way you did exactly the same that you were making a joke, so I played along in the same vein. I guess you we're just being weird.
I like Perplexity (Score:2)
I actually like it and find it more useful than ChatGPT and similar for general web-search type functionality. No surprise to me that they would introduce ads...they have to make money somehow. But the whole "ads influencing answers" part is a bit disconcerting.
Re: (Score:2)
It sounds like it's the ads influencing questions, not answers. Though it's hard to imagine a company willing to pay for one without some control over the others.
Instead of the normal suggested follow-up questions, it sounds like brands could pay to offer specific suggested questions. But the article has no details about the content of the responses it gives to those questions.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah this is a combination of both the history of the internet which goes back to the history of media of when it turned from a information business to an advertising business.
The answer we all want (or say we want) is companies like perplexity sell their product direct to the consumer so the consumer is their customer.
Since most people on the internet have baked in the concept of these services are free via add dollars, which we are also taught this is the norm via radio, television and newspapers, so most
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Re: (Score:2)
I [...] find it more useful than ChatGPT
I also enjoyed the shit I took today more than the one I had yesterday, but neither qualifies as fine dining.
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I [...] find it more useful than ChatGPT
I also enjoyed the shit I took today more than the one I had yesterday, but neither qualifies as fine dining.
Are you expecting us to believe that you use NO search engines, ad supported or otherwise?
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Google Competitor, plans to sell ads. (Score:2)
Yup. Story checks out!
Let's be honest, AI at this moment is really just a data aggregator, and most data aggregators are all about ad flipping. Nice to see one of them just come right out and own it. Or is this another April Fools, where a corporate entity is admitting to being a scumbag, only to April Fools us and continue to be a scumbag?
I will drop them the second they start with Ads (Score:4)
Re: (Score:3)
If the recent development on the net is something to go by, at first you'll be able to pay to get out of ads, then you get fewer ads, later you can pay more to get fewer ads, and eventually you just pay and get ads.
They're a pay service? (Score:2)
I hadn't cared enough to look for a new search engine (still Google), but yeah... I'd assumed they were free with ads.
Paying to disable ads is an option, but seriously $20!?!? Or maybe my age and 'unemployed' are showing there.
And the fact I've mostly avoided any of the AI stuff unless it's free, and it truly adds value. Like I trust it, it seems to understand beyond just repeating common claims from websites, etc.
Oh, and if it's crammed down my throat (copilot on Windows) I'll likely avoid it, if at all
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You will never know. The reply and the references, or their tendency, will be paid for by some organization, including by a large foundation, but you will never be able to tell.
Perplexity is all right if you want to ask it something of a purely technical nature, where no-one has anything to gain or lose by the answer. Say, for instance, that you are trying to answer some technical question about the best way to code something in Python. Or how to sharpen a serrated paring knife. or set up a block plane.
I asked Perplexity why I should use it (Score:3)
Q: why should I use perplexity instead of chatgpt? I hate ads [perplexity.ai]
A: Answer
Based on the search results provided, here are the key reasons why you should consider using Perplexity AI over ChatGPT:
Contextual Understanding: Perplexity AI seems to have a better understanding of context, allowing you to ask follow-up questions that build on previous queries, making the interaction more conversational. [3]
However, the search results also suggest that ChatGPT may be better suited for open-ended, creative tasks like content generation, while Perplexity AI is more focused on providing factual, research-oriented responses. [2]
Overall, if your primary needs are fast, ad-free, and transparent search capabilities, Perplexity AI appears to be a strong alternative to ChatGPT based on the information provided. [1][2][3]
Sources linked included a reddit thread, em360tech.com, digitaltrends.com, runtheprompts.com, and blackhatworld.com.
Re: (Score:2)
Soon to become:
Answer: Because no ads ...
Related: Would a cool refreshing coca cola feel good after using perplexity?
Re: (Score:2)
Answer
Based on the search results provided, I do not believe there is enough information to definitively answer whether a cool refreshing Coca-Cola would feel good after using Perplexity AI. Here's a summary of the relevant details:
[2] The search result mentions that a Coca-Cola would "feel good after using Perplexity", but this appears to be a sarcastic or rhetorical statement, not a factual claim. The article is focused on Perplexity's plans to introduce native advertising, not on the user experience of P
dont really care (Score:2)
I don't really care and I am going to ad block or ignore them anyway. What they need to fix first though is this happening now for the first time at least that I've seen it happen...
We'll be right back
We're getting a lot of questions right now and have reached our capacity. Please come back soon.
bye-bye (Score:2)
It was fun while it lasted.