Perplexity launches AI subscription revenue-share scheme for publishers

Washington Post, Le Monde and Conde Nast sign up to Comet Plus scheme.

The Washington Post and CNN websites with the Perplexity AI assistant in the righthand side of the window, in the Comet browser

Perplexity has signed up seven US-based and French publishers as launch partners for its Comet Plus subscription within the AI-powered Comet browser.

Comet Plus, which costs $5 or is free to existing Perplexity Pro and Max subscribers, will let subscribers access the paywalled sites and content of participating publishers, including by letting their AI assistants complete tasks on those websites and form answers based on their content.

The list of publishers joining the scheme was announced as Perplexity made its Comet browser free to everyone, not just part of a subscription package. Comet is designed to act as a personal assistant, summarising webpages, organising tabs by category and helping with shopping and other tasks.

Revenue will be allocated to publishers based on human visits, search citations and agent actions (an example of which was given as Comet Assistant scanning a user’s calendar and suggesting relevant articles for the day).

Some 80% of Comet Plus revenue will be distributed amongst participating publishers (as well as $5 from the more expensive Pro and Max subscriptions).

“Publishers should settle for nothing less,” Perplexity said when announcing the initial plans in August.

Perplexity is itself being sued by News Corp, major Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun and reference sites Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster over the alleged unauthorised use of their content. News Corp accused the AI company of “massive freeriding”.

CNN, Conde Nast, Fortune, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post have all signed up as Comet Plus launch partners.

In France, Le Monde and Le Figaro are also involved.

Conde Nast said its participation will give Comet Plus subscribers access to paywalled articles from US titles including: The New Yorker, Wired, Architectural Digest and Vanity Fair.

“They will be able to use AI agents and see AI answers informed by the trusted journalism of Condé Nast brands,” the publisher said.

“This partnership puts Conde Nast at the centre of how audiences discover information in AI-driven environments, while ensuring that content is fairly valued in AI searches and experiences.”

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told Business Insider at a launch event on Thursday that the subscription share model shows the tech company wants to be fair with publishers. “We have always been clear that a product like ours requires high-quality sources to exist on the web,” he said.

Perplexity said in a statement: “The participation of these leading publishers means Comet Plus users get immediate, frictionless access to premium stories that matter, from global headlines to in-depth analysis and exceptional cultural writing all directly on the web as part of the Comet browsing experience.”

It added: “A better internet starts with Comet. With Comet Plus, a better internet includes the expertise and perspective of top journalists and publishers.

“Most importantly, Comet Plus makes the internet better by ensuring great publishers and journalists benefit from the new forms of usage people demand in the age of AI. At the same time, Comet Plus is specifically designed to allow publishers to own the direct relationship with their audience.”

Perplexity announced its first revenue-sharing publisher programme last year, in which it said it would allocate advertising revenue according to whose content is cited in AI answers on its chatbot assistant. That is continuing, and Perplexity is actively talking to those publishers about Comet Plus. Publishers involved in the Perplexity ad revenue share scheme include: Time, Der Spiegel, The Texas Tribune, The Independent, Adweek, Gannett and Lee Enterprises.

Of the new launch partners, Fortune and The Los Angeles Times were signed up with Perplexity’s previous programme as well.

Conde Nast has also signed licensing deals with OpenAI and Amazon, The Washington Post and Le Monde are working with OpenAI and with Fortune has signed up with Prorata’s planned revenue sharing.

CNN and Le Figaro had until now not signed any AI licensing deals.

See Press Gazette’s full round-up of which publishers have signed AI licensing deals and which are have lodged lawsuits over unauthorised use of their content.