Perplexity, an artificial intelligence company, plans to share its profits from AI-enhanced search operations and AI-generated content using its technologies with publishers whose materials were part of this process, according to a Bloomberg report. This move is part of the company’s efforts to address recent criticisms from publishers and media outlets over the use of their content in generating answers. Perplexity has allocated $42.5 million to distribute to publishers through this new program, according to CEO Aravind Srinivas. The company offers an AI-enhanced search engine often comparable to Google, which it seeks to promote widely. Perplexity has been involved in the ongoing conflict between AI companies and media publishers who claim that visits to their sites—and thus their revenues—have been significantly harmed by tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI features.

Jessica Chan, Head of Publisher Partnerships at Perplexity, said in a previous interview that the company aims to build a new standard for compensation and revenue sharing for publishers. According to Chan, the new revenue model proposed by the company includes all visits to sites through all of its products, including the AI-enhanced Comet browser. The company funds these compensations through a new subscription model for the Comet browser, described by Srinivas as similar to Apple News+. Srinivas added that publishers receive 80% of the total profits generated from their content, with the company retaining the remaining 20%. This model differs significantly from those used by ChatGPT and Google, which sign permanent content access contracts worth millions of dollars. However, the company declined to clarify whether publishers have already joined the new program.

It is worth noting that Perplexity has previously collaborated with a group of global publishers, including The Times and Fortune newspapers.