OK, not to pick on a new adtech platform, but this is weird.
Based on a tip we overheard today at Marketecture Live, we ran a search on Perplexity, the fast-growing GenAI search engine that’s been one of the more receptive (and forward-thinking) players when it comes to ads.
Specifically, we searched: “what movies are showing near me.” The results? Totally fine and accurate… until you scroll to the end.
There it was: a sponsored ad in the “People Also Ask” section promoting Venom: The Last Dance with the prompt, “Where can I watch the new movie Venom: The Last Dance near me?”
The problem? Unfortunately for Perplexity, Sony, and Venom fans (Eddie!), that movie ended its theatrical run three months ago, at the end of December.
We ran another search and saw the same issue. This time, Kraven the Hunter popped up in the sponsored section… also no longer in theaters. Maybe this is just a Marvel thing? Mediocre Marvel movie thing? What DC executive is working for Perplexity? (We kid!)
Why This Matters:
AI search is expected to attract more ad dollars as it grows. In fact, a few months back, Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas hyped up their ad experience alongside GenAI search results after launching contextual ads in November. In an interview with The Economic Times, he shared his vision for how advertising might evolve in a GenAI world.
Instead of showing ads to humans directly, Srinivas suggested ads could target AI agents working on users’ behalf. Users would never see the ads—they’d just tell their AI what they need. As he put it: “I’m going to Rambagh for two nights. Plan my schedule, do my bookings.”
But… if we can’t even get “what movies are showing near me” right and serve up movies that are actually still in theaters, what hope is there for this more advanced, agentic-driven AI model?
Experts React:
Apparently, Perplexity has a limited number of advertisers right now, per a tweet from today’s Marketecture Live event:
That low scale might continue unless the company can make the ad experience more relevant and timely. After all, bad ad experiences reflect back on the search tech itself. (Is AGI truly possible if Metacritic.com or Mr. Moviefone is a better representation of what’s accurate?)
Our Take:
We love Perplexity. As a search engine, it’s great. But if it wants to build an ads business, it needs to be held to the same standards as the open web.
A company talking about buying TikTok for billions should probably focus on getting its ad experience right first. The constant shipping and tinkering across different spaces makes Perplexity feel like an unfocused company treating advertising as a side quest.
That won’t win ad dollars. Not for long and not long term. This is especially relevant as the company seeks to bring on more advertisers.
