Perplexity offers publishers revenue share from AI search

Perplexity AI is launching a revenue-sharing program for publishers, allocating US$42.5 million to compensate them for content used on its platform.

The US-based startup, which develops an AI search engine, said publishers will earn money when their articles appear in Comet browser search queries, drive web traffic, or are used by Comet’s AI assistant.

Funds for the program will come from Comet Plus, a US$5 monthly subscription that offers curated content, with publishers receiving 80% of this revenue.

Perplexity has not disclosed which publishers have joined but said talks are ongoing with previous media partners.

The move comes amid legal disputes, with Dow Jones and the New York Post suing Perplexity for alleged copyright infringement, and other outlets accusing the company of using content without permission.

Cloudflare has also accused Perplexity of bypassing website protections to access data, a claim Perplexity disputes, arguing its assistant only accesses sites at user request.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Copyright lawsuits are forcing AI companies toward revenue-sharing models

Perplexity’s $42.5 million revenue-sharing program represents a strategic pivot driven by mounting legal pressure from publishers.

The AI industry currently faces 48 active copyright lawsuits, with 45 cases still ongoing as of August 20252. Major media companies like Disney and Universal have filed new copyright infringement suits against AI firms just this year3.

This legal landscape explains why Perplexity is proactively offering publishers 80% of subscription revenue rather than waiting for court decisions4.

The company specifically lost a bid to dismiss a copyright lawsuit from News Corp’s Dow Jones and the New York Post, demonstrating that legal risks are materializing into real financial threats1.

While one recent court ruling favored AI company Anthropic on fair use grounds, that same case allowed claims about unauthorized use of pirated materials to proceed, potentially exposing companies to substantial damages5.

2️⃣ Revenue-sharing offers publishers potentially higher returns than traditional licensing

Perplexity’s model could prove more lucrative for publishers than the flat licensing fees other AI companies typically pay.