Perplexity launches Comet Plus: $5 subscription that shares revenue with publishers
Perplexity announced Comet Plus, a $5/month subscription designed to give users access to premium publisher content and to share subscription revenue with publishing partners. The plan aims to compensate publishers not only for search citations but also for “agent traffic” — when Perplexity’s AI agents visit and interact with pages on behalf of users, potentially bypassing ads.
Key details
- Price: $5 per month for Comet Plus.
- Revenue split: Publishers receive 80% of Comet Plus revenue; Perplexity allocates 20% for compute.
- Initial fund: Perplexity says it will start with a $42.5 million revenue pool to pay participating publishers.
- Agent traffic: The plan explicitly accounts for AI agent actions (e.g., scanning a user’s calendar and fetching articles), which can bypass traditional ad impressions.
- Relation to existing program: Comet Plus builds on Perplexity’s existing Publisher Program (which shares ad revenue from AI search summaries) by expanding compensation to include agent interactions.
What this could mean
On paper the deal looks generous: 80% of $5 is $4, which could be notable at scale. But publishers may reasonably ask whether $4 per subscriber is enough compared with direct subscriptions many outlets charge (often $20–$30/month) for full access. The model’s success depends on broad publisher participation and how Perplexity measures and attributes agent-driven value.
Sources and further reading
- Perplexity — Introducing Comet Plus: https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-comet-plus
- Bloomberg coverage on Perplexity’s revenue pool and program details: Bloomberg
- Reporting from CNET on Perplexity’s publisher payments: CNET
- MediaPost analysis of Perplexity’s browser and publisher revenue model: MediaPost
Questions remain about whether Comet Plus replaces or complements Perplexity’s existing Publisher Program and how it will work for paywalled or high-value publishers. We’ll update if Perplexity provides more details.