Perplexity Drops Ad Plans, Shifts Focus to Premium Users Amid AI Search Competition
Summary
Perplexity scraps its advertising plans and pivots to premium users, signaling a major strategic shift as the AI search startup battles Google and fights to find a sustainable, trust-preserving business model.
Key Points
- Perplexity is abandoning its plans to incorporate advertising into its AI search product, marking a significant reversal from earlier predictions that ads would become a major revenue stream.
- The move is part of a broader strategic shift for the AI search startup, which is now pivoting toward targeting a smaller but more valuable user audience.
- The decision reflects growing industry concerns about finding sustainable business models for AI search without compromising user trust, as competition with Google Search intensifies.