Perplexity AI recently announced that its publisher program will welcome over a dozen new international media partners, marking a new phase in its integration with the news industry. The new partners include ADWEEK, the Los Angeles Times, Mexico's News Daily, Stern, NTV, and the Encyclopedia of World History, while also expanding the existing collaboration with outlets such as Time, Fortune, and Der Spiegel.
Collaboration Model and Appeal
As part of the collaboration, Perplexity will share advertising revenue with publishers and provide them with APIs, developer tools, and free Enterprise Pro licenses. This collaboration model has attracted significant attention in the industry, especially after Jessica Chan (who previously managed content partnerships at LinkedIn) joined to lead the project.
This collaboration model differs from the one-time payment arrangements typical of traditional AI platforms like OpenAI. By sharing advertising revenue with publishers, Perplexity not only helps media outlets generate new revenue streams but also offers technological support to help their content integrate better with AI platforms.
Background and Challenges
As AI platforms become more widespread, AI search engines face increasing legal pressures. Many AI platforms are at risk of lawsuits for using news content, forcing them to reach agreements with publishers. While this cooperation may provide short-term benefits to publishers, it also has far-reaching implications.
Scholar Jeff Jarvis believes that such collaborations could create an unfair competitive environment in the industry, benefiting large media companies while smaller publishers may be at a disadvantage if they cannot participate. Furthermore, in the long run, publishers might become overly dependent on AI platforms, losing editorial independence and becoming mere content suppliers.
Industry Crossroads
The impact of AI platforms on the media industry is becoming increasingly significant. Traditional search engines directly link to sources, while AI search engines paraphrase content, which not only affects the brand exposure of publishers but may also lead to issues related to error rates and liability for misleading content. Research shows that even media outlets collaborating with OpenAI may have their content cited on AI platforms with a considerable amount of errors or partially incorrect information.
In light of this situation, media companies need to balance short-term profits with long-term independence, exploring new digital platforms and business models to avoid over-reliance on AI partners. At the same time, AI companies like Perplexity must address issues of misinformation and accountability, providing the industry with more transparent and reliable solutions.
