When it comes to Perplexity's ad business, the platform is at a crossroads

"The departure of Perplexity's ads chief, Taz Patel, didn't mark a pivot so much as confirm a tension that's been simmering for months. Rather than signaling a full-blown retreat from advertising, the exit underscores a broader identity question the AI platform has yet to resolve. According to three of the ad execs Digiday interviewed for this article, no one really knows what Perplexity's strategy is, or if it even knows itself."

"It's a sharp turn from the optimism that surrounded Perplexity just a year ago. Back then, the company began testing ad placements in its conversational AI search experience, generating buzz among marketers eager for a post-Google alternative. But that early excitement has since cooled. The tests didn't evolve into anything meaningful - and now neither has the strategy."

""We have not heard anything from Perplexity and we don't have any insider info.," said a media buyer at an independent ad agency, who exchanged anonymity for candor on the topic. "The general info I've gotten from our team here is that they don't call on us often." In other words, contact had been minimal."

Perplexity's ads chief, Taz Patel, left the company with no immediate successor, intensifying longstanding strategic uncertainty about the platform's advertising direction. Multiple ad executives report limited clarity about Perplexity's ad strategy and minimal contact between the company and advertisers. Early tests of ad placements in the conversational AI search product generated marketer interest but failed to mature into a defined product or playbook. Advertisers describe sparse outreach and little progress over recent months. Perplexity continues to refine its positioning, pitching its early ad product as a brand-building opportunity aimed at a tech-focused audience rather than traditional performance advertising.

Read at Digiday