Perplexity AI to launch ads on search platform by fourth quarter

(Reuters) – Nvidia (NASDAQ:) and Jeff Bezos-backed Perplexity AI said on Thursday that it plans to introduce advertising on its artificial intelligence-powered search platform by the fourth quarter.

Last month, the AI startup launched a program for publishers with an initial batch of partners, including TIME, Der Spiegel, and Fortune, in which it plans to share revenue from interactions where a publisher’s content is referenced.

Since ChatGPT first launched in November 2022, major search engines have been trying to integrate AI into web search, and analysts have viewed AI-assisted search as a threat to Google (NASDAQ:)’s dominant position in the industry ever since the AI boom started.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:) has adopted OpenAI technology for its Bing search engine through its early investment, while Google rolled out AI-powered summaries for the wider public at its developer conference in May.

In April, Perplexity AI raised $62.7 million from existing investors such as Nvidia, and new investors including Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, and Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital.

The fundraising round valued the company at more than $1 billion, doubling its valuation from three months earlier.