AI Startup Decides Ads Are Like Unwanted Chatty Relatives, Kicked Out
KEY POINTS
- •Perplexity began phasing out ads late last year due to user mistrust of chatbot upselling.
- •Executives confirmed at a Monday roundtable event they currently are not pursuing new ad deals.
- •This move contrasts with OpenAI's embrace of ads and Anthropic's ad-free promises as the AI industry seeks revenue stability.
Perplexity, the AI search startup that had dabbled in ads, suddenly declared ads as about as welcome as your Aunt Karen at Thanksgiving, pulling the plug late last year and announcing no new ad deals at a Monday roundtable. This U-turn waltzes right through 2026, as Chatbot giants like OpenAI double down on ads while Anthropic promises to be the saint of 'no ads ever.' Caught between PC paranoia and bankroll blues, Perplexity is trying the subscription route, admitting users might trust their bots more without the greasy upsell. Business Insider and Financial Times covered this sitcom-worthy pivot—cue sweatpants and existential dread for ad execs.
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(1 of 3)AI startup Perplexity just convicted ads of being untrustworthy car salesmen for bots. Turns out users prefer recommendations from chatbots, not shady pitchmen in digital suits.
Perplexity ditched ads because nothing says 'trustworthy AI' like zero sales pitches—finally an AI with better social skills than my relatives at dinner.
When your AI starts ghosting ads harder than I ghost my gym membership, you know the marketing diet is tough to swallow.
Source: Theverge | Published: 2/18/2026 | Author: Robert Hart
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