Advertising on Perplexity: why there (currently) isn't any - and how to appear there anyway

We've broken down how advertising came to ChatGPT and to Google's AI answers. It would be logical to complete the "trilogy" with the third major AI platform - Perplexity. But here's an interesting twist: Perplexity went in exactly the opposite direction and abandoned advertising. And this is arguably even more useful to know than yet another ad dashboard - because it shows where the whole market is heading. Let's break down what happened, why, and what a business should do about it.

What happened

Perplexity is an AI search engine that answers questions with coherent text and links to sources. In November 2024, it became the first among major AI search engines to test advertising. But the experiment didn't take off: in 2026 the company announced it was winding down advertising by the end of the year.

The reason isn't just weak results, but trust. Perplexity's executives explained it simply: in AI search, a person needs to believe that what's in front of them is the best possible answer, and the mere presence of advertising makes the user "suspicious of everything." Something else is telling: fewer than 0.5% of applicant brands were admitted to the program - meaning both demand and supply turned out to be sluggish.

Instead of advertising, Perplexity earns from subscriptions (paid tiers roughly from $20 to $200 a month), and it works: the platform already has over 100 million users and around $200m in annual revenue. So AI search can live without advertising.

Why this matters for the whole market

An interesting split has emerged here. ChatGPT and Google embed advertising in their AI answers, while Perplexity - and, for example, Claude from Anthropic, which is positioned as an ad-free platform - choose the "no ads for the sake of trust" path. In essence, the AI-search market is dividing into two camps: some monetize with advertising, others with subscriptions and user trust.

The takeaway for business is this: don't expect every AI to have the same "buy ads" button. In some places there won't be one at all - and you'll have to get in differently.

What this means for business

The main thing: you can't buy a spot on Perplexity right now. But its audience is very attractive for business - educated, solvent professionals (many people from medicine, law, and technology). You don't want to lose such an audience, which means the question isn't "how to buy ads," but "how to make Perplexity itself recommend my business in its answers."

And this is exactly the same logic we discussed for ChatGPT and Google: if advertising is unavailable or perceived as intrusive, organic visibility wins - when the AI cites you as a source.

How to appear on Perplexity anyway

There's one method, but it's reliable - become the source the AI wants to cite. This is called optimization for AI answers (GEO/AEO), and in practice it means several things.

• Create genuinely useful content that directly answers your audience's questions - in a "question-answer" format, with specifics and no fluff.
• Be a credible source: clear facts, transparent prices, honest comparisons - the kind of thing the AI can confidently cite.
• Structure information so it's easy for a machine to "read."
• Earn mentions on authoritative third-party platforms - the more reliable sources talk about you, the more willingly the AI recommends you.

A nice bonus: these same efforts simultaneously improve your visibility in ChatGPT and in Google's AI answers. Invest once in organic visibility - and you work for all AI platforms at once.

Is it worth keeping an eye on

Yes. Perplexity may still return to advertising in a different format, and its audience keeps growing. The sensible strategy is not to try to "buy" it now, but to build an organic presence and keep your finger on the pulse: if a convenient ad format with proper analytics appears, you'll enter it already prepared.

The key points in brief

Perplexity is the third major AI platform, but unlike ChatGPT and Google, in 2026 it abandoned advertising, betting on trust and subscriptions. You can't buy impressions there right now. But the audience is valuable - educated professionals - so it's worth getting in through organic means: create content the AI wants to cite, be a credible source, and earn mentions. The same actions strengthen you in ChatGPT and Google too. The AI-search market is dividing into "with ads" and "without ads" - and the ability to be noticed without buying impressions becomes a distinct skill that pays off across all platforms at once.