Perplexity AI to share millions in search revenue with publishers

The San Francisco-based startup has allocated $42.5 million for initial payouts, saying the fund will grow as its service expands while emphasizing that strong journalism and trusted content are vital in today’s AI-driven digital landscape

Perplexity AI has announced plans to pay millions of dollars to media outlets as part of a new revenue-sharing framework, positioning the initiative as a step toward fairer compensation in the AI-driven search era.

The San Francisco-based startup said partner publishers will receive payments whenever their work is used to generate responses on Perplexity’s browser or AI assistant. The program will be delivered through a new subscription service, Comet Plus, expected to roll out in the coming months. Subscribers will pay $5 per month, with a portion of the revenue flowing back to publishers.

Perplexity has earmarked $42.5 million for initial payouts, a figure it expects will increase as the service expands. “We’re compensating publishers in a way that fits the AI age,” the company wrote in a blog post, adding that strong journalism and trusted content remain critical in a digital landscape where users expect not only information but actionable knowledge.

Balancing innovation and legal disputes

The announcement comes as Perplexity faces lawsuits from major outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun. The suits allege that the company’s AI models reproduce copyrighted material without permission, profiting from the work of established media organizations.

Perplexity argues its approach differs from traditional search engines by providing real-time answers embedded with source links, allowing users to verify information. Unlike Google, which now integrates AI-generated summaries into search results, Perplexity displays direct responses on its webpage, reducing the need to click through to original sites.

In earlier statements, the company criticized what it called the “adversarial posture” of some publishers, warning that attempts to wall off publicly reported facts could stifle innovation. With Comet Plus, Perplexity hopes to ease tensions by creating what it describes as “genuinely pie-expanding businesses” that reward both technology firms and media partners.

The program marks one of the first large-scale attempts by an AI search startup to share revenue with news providers—a move likely to be closely watched across Silicon Valley and the global media industry.