Perplexity AI, backed by heavyweights like Jeff Bezos and Nvidia, plans to start rolling out ads on its AI-driven search engine by the year's fourth quarter. Just last month, the company introduced a publisher’s program, collaborating with partners such as IME, Der Spiegel, Fortune, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune, and WordPress.
The landscape of AI-powered search engines is still relatively new, presenting a substantial opportunity for emerging players. In this space, Google has already incorporated AI by offering summaries or overviews generated by AI for search queries. Microsoft, on the other hand, has woven OpenAI’s technology into its own offering with the AI-enhanced Bing.
Why is this significant? Perplexity AI's move could challenge Google's long-standing dominance in the search engine market. Over two decades, Google has built one of the world’s most valuable companies, largely through its ad-based revenue model. The introduction of AI into web search, particularly following the launch of ChatGPT, has prompted both existing and new search engines to rethink their strategies and potentially reshape the industry.
