AI-powered search engine Perplexity says it will begin experimenting with ads on its platform starting this week.

Ads will initially appear in the United States, in the “sponsored follow-up questions” format. (For example, “How can I use LinkedIn to improve my job search?”) Paid media will be positioned next to answers and labeled as sponsored.

Brand and agency partners participating in Perplexity’s advertising program include Indeed, Whole Foods, Universal McCann and PMG.

“Advertising programs like this help us generate revenue to share with our publishing partners,” Perplexity wrote in a statement. job on his blog. “Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue sharing program. (A)dvertising is the best way to ensure a stable and scalable revenue stream.”

Perplexity claims that answers to “sponsored questions” will always be generated by its AI – and not written or edited by the brands that sponsor the questions. Advertisers also won’t have access to users’ personal information, the company says.

“We intentionally chose these formats because they integrate advertising in a way that protects the usefulness, accuracy, and objectivity of responses,” the blog post reads. “These advertisements will not change our commitment to maintaining a reliable service that provides you with direct and unbiased answers to your questions.”

Perplexity’s adoption of ads contrasts with OpenAI’s decision not to launch its AI-powered search tool, Search ChatGPTwith advertisements. But rival Google recently piloted ads in its AI search experience, AI Overviews. bringing ads on mobile in the United States for certain queries.

Illustrating the challenge of integrating ads into AI-generated content, Microsoft only briefly explored the insertion of advertisements in the responses given by its chatbot on Bing. He quietly removed the sponsored results after a few months.

The perplexity is said market its advertising products as a premium alternative to those of Google, emphasizing its platform’s ability to reach educated, high-income consumers. But some analysts have expressed concerns about the scale, reach and targeting capabilities of ads on Perplexity.

Accusations of plagiarism are another concern for advertisers. News Corp’s Dow Jones and NY Post have continued Perplexity at what they describe as a “content kleptocracy”. Many other news sites have evidence presented that Perplexity faithfully reproduces their content – ​​just last month, The New York Times sent the startup a ceasefire.

The perplexity, which has recently said it processes 100 million search queries per week, claims to have changed the way its platform cites sources and continues to expand its revenue sharing program for publishers. But the company also has argued publishers would like its technology “not to exist” and would prefer that “publicly reported facts belong to companies.”

There is pressure on Perplexity to accelerate monetization. The company is reportedly close to raising $500 million in funding at a valuation of $9 billion, but has only one revenue stream: its premium subscription service, Perplexity Pro, which adds functionality to additional research for 20 dollars per month.