No. As of 13 November 2026 Perplexity sells no ads. It stopped accepting new advertisers in October 2025 (MediaPost), and in February 2026 its executives told the Financial Times the ads had been phased out with no plans to bring them back (Search Engine Land). We found no relaunch since.
If you want paid placement in AI answers, the options today are ChatGPT ads, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode (through your Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns) and Microsoft Copilot (through Microsoft Advertising). To appear in Perplexity's answers, organic visibility is the only route.
Status, checked 13 November 2026
- Can you buy it?
- No. No ad product on sale; no relaunch found.
- Since when
- No new advertisers from October 2025; ads phased out, reported 18 February 2026.
- When it was live
- From November 2024 until the phase-out, US only.
- Formats then
- Sponsored follow-up questions; paid media beside the answer.
- Price then
- CPM, reported above $50 (trade press, 2024).
- Instead
- ChatGPT ads; Google AI Mode / AI Overviews via Search; Microsoft Copilot via Microsoft Advertising; organic Perplexity visibility.
What Perplexity ads were
Perplexity started testing ads in the US in November 2024 in two formats (Perplexity):
- Sponsored follow-up questions. A brand paid for a suggested question shown after an answer. Perplexity said "answers to Sponsored Questions will still be generated by our technology, and not written or edited by the brands sponsoring the questions".
- Paid media beside the answer, labelled "sponsored".
Its stated principle: "the content of the answers you receive on Perplexity will not be influenced by advertisers" (Perplexity).
Early advertisers and agencies named at launch: Indeed, Whole Foods Market, Universal McCann and PMG. Pricing was on a CPM basis, reported above $50 (TechCrunch, 12 November 2024). There was never a self-serve ads manager in the sources we found.
Timeline
Perplexity ads, start to stop
Dated events, trade press reports
- 12 Nov 2024Test startsSponsored follow-up questions and side ads, US; CPM above $50 reported
- 2024$20,000 ad revenueOut of $34M total revenue, as reported (second-hand)
- 10 Oct 2025No new advertisersPerplexity stops accepting advertisers
- 18 Feb 2026Ads phased outExecutives cite user trust; no plan to return (FT, via trade press)
- 13 Nov 2026Still offNo ad product on sale, no relaunch reported
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Nov 2024 | Perplexity starts testing ads in the US: sponsored follow-up questions and side media; CPM reported above $50 | TechCrunch, Search Engine Land |
| 2024 (full year) | $20,000 of ad revenue out of $34M total revenue, as reported by The Information | eMarketer (second-hand) |
| 2025 | Perplexity's head of advertising and shopping leaves about nine months after joining | MediaPost |
| 10 Oct 2025 | Perplexity stops accepting new advertisers; says no ads in its Comet browser. Existing ads still running at that point | MediaPost |
| 18 Feb 2026 | FT reports Perplexity has phased out ads and has no plans to bring them back, citing user trust | Search Engine Land, SBC News |
| 19 Feb 2026 | Some outlets describe the halt as temporary: a return "has not been ruled out" | TechCentral.ie |
| 13 Nov 2026 | No ad product on sale; no relaunch reported | our check |
Why it stopped, in Perplexity's words as quoted in the reports: "A user needs to believe this is the best possible answer" (Search Engine Land). The FT report also said Perplexity could revisit advertising or "never ever need to do ads" (same source). Reports differ on whether the exit is permanent; we will update this page if Perplexity announces ads again.
Is anything left to buy?
| Option | Status (13 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|
| Sponsored follow-up questions | Phased out (reported Feb 2026) |
| Side media ads next to answers | Phased out (reported Feb 2026) |
| Ads in the Comet browser | None; Perplexity said ads would not be part of Comet (Oct 2025) |
| Self-serve ads manager | Never found in any source |
| Paid shopping or merchant ad programme | Not confirmed: Perplexity has shopping features, but we found no paid ad programme for merchants |
| Agencies selling Perplexity ads | None of the 27 AI-ads agencies in our base claims to buy Perplexity ads |
Two agencies say so on their own pages: Admiral Media ("Perplexity and Gemini placements are not on sale", admiral.media) and M+C Saatchi Performance, whose platform tracker lists Perplexity as "Stopped advertising" (mcsaatchiperformance.com). If an agency offers to "run Perplexity ads", ask what exactly it will buy; it is most likely organic optimisation. More on this: best Perplexity ads agencies.
What to do instead
| Goal | Option | How you buy it |
|---|---|---|
| Paid placement in an AI assistant | ChatGPT ads | Self-serve Ads Manager, OpenAI's sales team, holding agencies or tech partners; 89 countries as of 21 October 2026 (OpenAI) |
| Ads in Google's AI answers | Google AI Mode ads | Existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns; no separate targeting or reporting (Google Ads Help) |
| Ads in Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft Copilot ads | Microsoft Advertising Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns (Microsoft Advertising) |
| E-commerce in an AI shopping assistant | Amazon Rufus ads | Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands prompts, US, CPC (Amazon Ads) |
| Be named or cited in Perplexity's answers | Organic AI visibility | Agencies compared on geoagencyreviews.com; getting cited: aicitationservices.com |
Self-serve ChatGPT ads start from a reported $25/day (PPC Land, 21 October 2026), so a small test does not need an agency. Prices by route: ChatGPT ads cost. How paid and organic differ: AI ads vs organic AI visibility. All platforms in one table: AI search ads.
Why many guides still explain how to run Perplexity ads
We track answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews to "How do Perplexity ads work and what do they cost?" (88 answers, 15 October – 13 November 2026). The pages they cite most are how-to guides from marketing vendors (dataslayer.ai in 41 answers, stackmatix.com 33, webfx.com 32, adlock.com 30); the Financial Times report on the exit was cited in 26. If an AI answer or a guide tells you how to set up Perplexity ads, check the date of its source against the timeline above.
What Google AI Overview answered
Search: “can you advertise on perplexity”
FAQ
Does Perplexity have ads in 2026?
No. Perplexity stopped accepting new advertisers in October 2025 and, as reported in February 2026, phased out the ads it had. As of 13 November 2026 we found no relaunch.
How much did Perplexity ads cost?
They were sold on a CPM basis, reported above $50 per thousand impressions in 2024 (TechCrunch). No official rate card was published.
Is there a Perplexity ads manager?
No. We found no self-serve ads manager at any point; the 2024 test ran with selected brands and agencies.
Will Perplexity bring ads back?
Unknown. The February 2026 reports quote Perplexity saying it had no plans to bring ads back, while some outlets say a return has not been ruled out. We re-check monthly; changes go on the changelog.
How can my brand appear in Perplexity answers without ads?
By being cited in the sources Perplexity draws on. Agencies that do this work are compared on geoagencyreviews.com; services that work on AI citations are on aicitationservices.com.
Can an agency still buy Perplexity ads for me?
None of the agencies in our base claims to. If one offers it, ask what it will buy and on which platform.