Perplexity has expanded its Publishers Program to include over 100 media partners, up from the original 10 when it launched about a year ago. The program compensates news outlets and publishers for content used to train AI models and generate responses, addressing growing concerns about fair compensation for content creators in the AI era.
What you should know: The program has grown exponentially and now includes major publications like TIME, Der Spiegel, Fortune, and The Texas Tribune.
- Publishers receive both attribution through citations and direct revenue sharing based on how often their content is referenced in user queries.
- “We would not be able to serve factual, valuable answers without news organizations continuing to report on different topics,” said Jessica Chan, head of publisher partnerships at Perplexity.
How it works: Revenue is distributed to publishers based on citation frequency and query relevance.
- “Now, because of AI, we’re able to find the most accurate relevant information for the user, and attribute that revenue according to that query, (and) to the publishers that were cited,” explained Perplexity co-founder Johnny Ho.
- The platform includes citations in every answer to ensure publishers receive proper credit while building user trust.
The bigger picture: Perplexity joins other AI companies like OpenAI in establishing publisher compensation programs amid debates over data ownership.
- Tech media estimates suggest OpenAI pays publishers between $1 million and $5 million for content use.
- The challenge remains proving when AI engines actually use specific publisher content, with potential solutions including watermarking, prompt probing, and legal discovery.
What they’re saying: Ho emphasized the importance of staying grounded and responsive to user feedback rather than getting caught up in valuations or technology hype.
- “Being grounded is what’s important, right? Having the user feedback (that) goes straight to you, straight to your inbox every day, is pretty good.”
- “It’s easy to get very high in the sky about, let’s say, valuations, or start bragging about your own technology, but I don’t think users actually care about any of that stuff.”
Why this matters: The expansion reflects growing recognition that AI companies need to fairly compensate content creators whose work powers their systems, especially as concerns mount about data ownership in the AI age.
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