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How does Perplexity source its data?

By SourceX Editorial · Updated

Short answer

Perplexity is primarily an AI search product that crawls the web and cites sources, and it has built a Publishers' Program that shares advertising revenue with media partners such as Time, Fortune, Der Spiegel and Gannett. Perplexity has also faced multiple copyright lawsuits from publishers, including Reddit, Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun, over alleged unauthorized content use. This page reflects Perplexity's own announcements and reported litigation.

Perplexity's Publishers' Program#

Perplexity launched its Publishers' Program in 2024 with initial partners including Time, Der Spiegel, Fortune, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune and WordPress.com, offering revenue sharing when a publisher's content is referenced, API access, and analytics through a partner platform.

The Verge reported that Perplexity's chief business officer described the revenue share as a multiyear agreement with a double-digit percentage, consistent across partners, with payments made on a per-source basis for each article used in responses.

Expanding publisher partnerships#

Perplexity announced Gannett, the owner of USA Today and more than 200 local publications, joined its Publisher Program in 2025 through a licensing agreement integrating Gannett journalism into Perplexity's AI search and Comet browser.

Fortune reported that Perplexity has signed revenue-sharing partnerships with outlets including Fortune, Time, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and the Los Angeles Times, and allocated $42.5 million to a Comet Plus program giving publishers 80 percent of related subscription revenue.

  1. 01Your work records
  2. 02Personal details removed
  3. 03You approve the release
  4. 04Licensed to AI developers
How it works with SourceX: Your work records → Personal details removed → You approve the release → Licensed to AI developers.Illustrative

Copyright disputes#

Business Insider reported that Reddit filed a lawsuit in 2025 alleging Perplexity continued citing Reddit content despite having agreed to block scraping of the site.

Fortune reported that Japanese media groups Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun filed a lawsuit against Perplexity in 2025 seeking damages over alleged copying and storage of article content.

What this means for a business#

A business or publisher weighing whether to join an AI search company's content program should get the exact revenue-share percentage and audit rights in writing, since public reporting shows these figures and practices can vary and have been disputed by other publishers.

SourceX and Perplexity#

SourceX is not affiliated with Perplexity. This page summarizes public reports; it does not mean Perplexity buys data through SourceX.

Frequently asked questions

Does Perplexity pay publishers for content?

Yes, Perplexity operates a Publishers' Program that shares advertising revenue and offers API access to partner publishers, according to Perplexity's own announcements and reporting by The Verge.

Has Perplexity been sued over how it uses content?

Yes, Reddit, Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun have filed lawsuits against Perplexity alleging unauthorized use of their content, according to Business Insider and Fortune.

What percentage of revenue do Perplexity publisher partners get?

The Verge reported Perplexity's chief business officer described the revenue share as a multiyear, double-digit percentage, without disclosing an exact figure.

Sources

Public sources, checked 2026-10-09. SourceX is not affiliated with the organizations named.

  1. Perplexity Publishers' Program launch and initial partners, 2024 perplexity.ai
  2. Double-digit percentage revenue share, per-source payments, per Perplexity's CBO theverge.com
  3. Gannett joining Perplexity Publisher Program, 2025 perplexity.ai
  4. Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun lawsuit, $42.5M Comet Plus allocation with 80% publisher share fortune.com
  5. Reddit lawsuit against Perplexity over scraping, 2025 businessinsider.com

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