Perplexity, a key AI player for news companies, has launched Comet Plus, a subscription model that opens a US$42.5 million revenue pool for news publishers. The company frames this as a peace offering due to the overzealous — and to some publishers illegal and being pursued through courts — AI scraping.

How the programme works

Subscriptions (US$5/month Comet Plus, alongside Pro and Max tiers) feed into a pool where 80% of revenue goes to publishers; Perplexity keeps 20%. It’s a little like Apple News but available internationally, not just the four countries Apple is in, and is automated rather than editorially curated. 

Payouts are based on three metrics:

1. Direct traffic from Comet to publisher sites.

2. Citations in Comet’s AI answers.

3. Content used to complete AI-powered tasks.

This goes beyond traditional ad-based or click-through models, recognising AI agents engage with content in more varied ways than human users. This is one of the first steps of monetising agentic AI (we’ll do a lot on this at INMA next year).

The promise and the risks

• Audience engagement: By reframing browsing as a conversational, task-oriented experience, Comet could reshape how audiences discover journalism. Less clutter, more direct answers. This is off-platform for news organisations, meaning no data and very little to no brand ownership ownership (but a route to monetisation). Thomas Baekdal argues this is why publishers shouldn’t consider this as an option.

• Security: Brave and Guardio audits have already flagged vulnerabilities in Comet, from phishing susceptibility to malicious code injection. Trust remains a question mark given past relationships between news organisations and Perplexity. But it’s also early days for everyone in this. 

• Scale: Apparently Perplexity is negotiating with phone makers to pre-install Comet, aiming to build distribution fast and claim default status before others catch up. In other words, Perplexity is already a habit for millions of people and that looks set to grow.  

Early signals

Perplexity says “checks have gone out,” though no publisher numbers have been disclosed. They’re pitching this as a survival imperative for their platform: “Perplexity only succeeds if journalism succeeds.” 

The rhetoric is promising, but transparency, consistency, and adoption will be key. We’ll be talking to Jessica Chan, head of content and publisher partnerships,  directly about this at our Media, Tech & AI conference in October. 

Takeaways for news leaders (TL:DR)

• AI browsers are here and fighting for default status; distribution is the prize.

• Comet Plus is the first serious attempt to tie publisher revenue directly to AI agent interactions.

• Trust and safety remain unresolved.

• Publisher participation and feedback will shape whether this becomes a real model for AI-era compensation.

One thing is clear: the AI browser wars have begun and these have the potential to reshape the open Web. News organisations will need to decide where, when, and how to engage.

If you’d like to subscribe to my bi-weekly newsletter, INMA members can do so here.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .