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The rise of artificial intelligence has fundamentally transformed how we search for information online. Rather than clicking through endless links on Google, AI can now do the heavy lifting for us, distilling complex information into digestible summaries. But this convenience comes at a cost: traditional websites are losing traffic, and publishers are struggling to monetize their content. Perplexity’s Comet Plus subscription plan might offer a solution to this growing problem.
The $5 monthly service promises to compensate publishers fairly by addressing what the company identifies as three distinct types of internet traffic: human visits, search citations when AI summarizes articles, and agent actions when AI assistants automatically scan content on users’ behalf.
Publishers will receive 80 percent of revenue from Perplexity Comet Plus, with the company keeping 20 percent for compute costs. This represents the first compensation model that allocates revenue based on multiple traffic types beyond traditional webpage visits.
The timing isn’t coincidental. According to reports, Perplexity was sued in October by News Corp-owned publishers including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted material, while the BBC also threatened legal action demanding the company cease content scraping.
The company has been aggressive in expansion efforts, even making a bold $34.5 billion offer to buy Chrome from Google earlier this year. Now with Comet browser aiming to replace Chrome, this revenue-sharing model could help legitimize its platform.
For publishers exhausted by declining referral traffic, this new approach offers hope. Whether it succeeds depends on subscriber adoption and genuine publisher participation.
The post Perplexity’s Comet Plus Could Change How AI Search Pays Publishers appeared first on Phandroid.
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The $5 monthly service promises to compensate publishers fairly by addressing what the company identifies as three distinct types of internet traffic: human visits, search citations when AI summarizes articles, and agent actions when AI assistants automatically scan content on users’ behalf.
Publishers will receive 80 percent of revenue from Perplexity Comet Plus, with the company keeping 20 percent for compute costs. This represents the first compensation model that allocates revenue based on multiple traffic types beyond traditional webpage visits.
The timing isn’t coincidental. According to reports, Perplexity was sued in October by News Corp-owned publishers including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted material, while the BBC also threatened legal action demanding the company cease content scraping.
The company has been aggressive in expansion efforts, even making a bold $34.5 billion offer to buy Chrome from Google earlier this year. Now with Comet browser aiming to replace Chrome, this revenue-sharing model could help legitimize its platform.
For publishers exhausted by declining referral traffic, this new approach offers hope. Whether it succeeds depends on subscriber adoption and genuine publisher participation.
The post Perplexity’s Comet Plus Could Change How AI Search Pays Publishers appeared first on Phandroid.
More...
