Perplexity wants your data for targeted advertising: the AI ​​startup's uninhibited ambition

We can't take away from Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity a refreshing frankness, rare in the industry... even if it comes at the expense of confidentiality and privacy! In an interview with the podcast TBPN, the startup's leader makes no secret of his ambitions: he wants to become the new Google, nothing less.

A web browser in development at Perplexity

The young startup, known for its AI-based search engine, is currently developing its own web browser under the code name Comet. The goal is clear, almost brutal: to create and exploit user tracking profiles to bombard them with targeted ads.

"We want to get data [outside the Perplexity app] to better understand you. What you buy, the hotels you book, the restaurants you frequent, the sites you visit," he explains. "That tells us a lot more about you than work-related queries," which are the most common in Perplexity.

It remains to be seen whether users of this browser will be happy to be tracked all the time. This isn't a problem for Aravind Srinivas, who says that Internet users will accept data collection and targeting without batting an eyelid as long as the ads served seem useful and relevant to them. It's a risky bet. The trend seems to be the opposite: the general public is increasingly concerned about data privacy, while regulators are pushing to strictly regulate the exploitation of this information.

But obviously, from Perplexity's perspective, the outlook is very different and the model comes from the top. Google built its empire on advertising targeted, largely through user tracking via Chrome, Android, and its many online services. The startup wants to replicate this mechanism with its own browser, which could be released in May—unless Google is forced by the American courts to cede Chrome.

Perplexity is also negotiating with smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its assistant on their devices. Motorola's brand new Razer phones are equipped with it. While waiting for Samsung? Discussions are said to be underway. also in progress.

Source: TechCrunch