What happened
Perplexity AI terminated advertising programme to preserve user trust in search results. CEO Aravind Srinivas confirmed shift from sponsored content to subscription-based revenue models. Move removes brand-sponsored answers from platform. It follows company's initial pilot of ads in late 2024. Decision contrasts with recent moves by OpenAI and Google to integrate commercial placements within conversational interfaces. Perplexity previously planned to share ad revenue with publishers but will now focus on Pro subscriptions costing $20 monthly.
Why it matters
Product managers and growth founders face diverging market between ad-supported and subscription-only AI models. Perplexity’s exit from advertising creates trust-based moat against OpenAI, which launched ChatGPT ads on 9 February. Because sponsored content introduces bias risks, procurement teams can now categorise Perplexity as neutral research tool. Shift prioritises user retention over immediate ad revenue. Therefore, competitors must choose between monetising search intent or protecting output integrity.
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