Latest news with #RyanFoutty
Cision Canada
11-08-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Bell partners with Perplexity to bring advanced AI search tools to customers Français
Bell becomes the exclusive telecommunications partner for Perplexity in Canada, offering eligible customers 12 months of Perplexity Pro at no cost MONTRÉAL, Aug. 11, 2025 /CNW/ - Bell today announced a new partnership with Perplexity, a leading AI-powered answer engine, becoming the company's exclusive telecommunications partner in Canada. Through this partnership, eligible Bell customers will receive 12 months of complimentary access to Perplexity Pro, a premium AI research and productivity tool valued at nearly $300. This offer marks a key milestone in Bell's focus on delivering artificial intelligence solutions to customers in meaningful and practical ways. By bringing best-in-class AI offerings like Perplexity to Canadians over Canada's fastest Internet 1 and fastest and best 5G and 5G+ networks 2, Bell is enhancing how customers search, learn, and create – whether at home or on the go. These AI experiences require powerful networks capable of handling large volumes of data in real-time, and Bell's networks are positioned to meet that need. Perplexity offers a conversational, AI-powered search experience that delivers fast, accurate answers with source citations – helping users save time and get to the information they need, quickly. With Perplexity Pro, customers can access leading AI models like GPT-5, Claude 4.0, and Gemini 2.5 Pro to support tasks ranging from research and writing, to content planning and data analysis. The speed and performance of Bell's networks help accelerate this AI-driven experience, ensuring customers can fully benefit from Perplexity's capabilities. Launching just in time for the busy back-to-school season, this offer will give millions of Canadians the opportunity to experience the best of AI, supporting them as they return to their routines – whether they're heading back to class, back to the office, or are simply looking to stay organized and informed. "Artificial intelligence tools are fundamentally reshaping how we interact with information. Through our partnership with Perplexity, we're giving millions of Canadians the opportunity to experience the best of AI – powered by Bell's award-winning networks, wherever they are. Whether conducting research, uploading files or generating content, the speed and performance of Bell's networks are the key to delivering massive amounts of data in real time." - Blaik Kirby, Group President, Consumer and Small Business, Bell "We are excited to collaborate with Bell to bring Perplexity Pro to users in Canada. Accurate, trustworthy answers are essential to millions of decisions that Canadians make every day, and Bell's commitment to customer-centric innovation make it a natural partner to provide valuable technology that improves daily life for all customers." - Ryan Foutty, VP of Business at Perplexity What Perplexity Pro has to offer Perplexity Pro is an AI-powered platform that goes beyond traditional search by synthesizing information from multiple sources and delivering real-time answers with citations. Key features include: Access to top AI models: GPT-5, Claude 4.0, Gemini 2.5 Pro and others 600 daily pro searches Unlimited file upload and analysis Image generation tools Advanced summarization, citation, and research functionality Early access to Comet, a new agentic browser from Perplexity Eligible Bell Mobility customers will begin receiving their redemption codes in the coming days, while Bell Internet customers will have access starting in fall 2025. Codes will be sent via email and text, and will also be available in customers' MyBell account. About Bell Bell is Canada's largest communications company 3, providing advanced Bell broadband Internet, wireless, TV, media and business communication services. To learn more, please visit or Through Bell for Better, we are investing to create a better today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and economic prosperity of our communities. This includes the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit __________________________________ 1 Based on Ookla® Speedtest Intelligence® data, 1H 2025. All rights reserved. 2 Independent testing by Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) from February to November 2024 ranked Bell's 5G and 5G+ networks highest among Canadian national wireless carriers. 3 Based on total revenue and total combined customer connections.
Business Insider
07-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Inside Perplexity AI's softly, softly approach to advertising
Perplexity AI is cautiously growing its ad business. Its main ad product is 'sponsored follow-up questions,' and it recently introduced a perks program. Perplexity has a revenue share program with publishers, but its ads business is still nascent. Perplexity AI is taking a softly, softly approach to building its ad business. The AI company had a low-key presence at last month's Cannes Lions ad festival in France. Amid the huge multimillion-dollar beach structures erected by tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google, Perplexity sent just a handful of executives to meet with current and potential business partners. Perplexity, a conversational AI-powered search engine, began testing ads last year. Brands such as Whole Foods and Indeed have bought "sponsored follow-up questions," which appear alongside an answer to a user's prompt, encouraging them to dig deeper into the topic. Advertisers themselves don't write or edit the sponsored questions, which are generated by Perplexity's AI. It's a contrast to traditional search engine marketing, where ads typically appear before the organic results. Speaking to Business Insider at Cannes Lions in June, Ryan Foutty, Perplexity's VP of business development, said the company is still figuring out which advertising model will work best. He described sponsored follow-up questions as "a really incredible brand advertorial." "It's additive because you're helping users figure out the next question they need to ask to make a better decision or figure out what they're trying to do versus just trying to put something in your face," Foutty said, adding that 40% of its users click on related questions. Perplexity advertisers pay on a CPM, or cost to reach a thousand impressions, model. A Perplexity spokesperson said advertising currently comprises less than a tenth of a percent of the company's total revenue, and declined to comment on the company's current ad prices. In recent weeks, Perplexity has also introduced a perks program, where it provides subscribers to its Perplexity Pro service with offers and discounts from brands including Turbotax, the smart ring company Oura, and hotel booking service Selfbook. Both Perplexity ads and perks are only active in the US. Foutty said the company was also considering more ways to monetize Perplexity's shopping and travel booking features, which could theoretically include further ad formats. "It's very manual today," Foutty said, "But when we find something that works for everyone, then it's very easy, naturally, for us to scale it." Perplexity hasn't released its user numbers, but its CEO, Aravind Srinivas, said the company received 780 million queries in May, up 20% from April. But compare that to Google's AI Overviews, which the search giant said reached 1.5 billion monthly users in May. Google recently brought advertising to more areas of its AI Overviews product, and it's testing ads within its AI Mode, a newer feature where users can conduct deeper research. With its relatively small scale and only one specific ad format available, Perplexity's advertising offering is only getting tepid interest from marketers for now, said Eric Hoover, director of search engine optimization at the digital marketing agency Jellyfish. "I don't see strong adoption by users," Hoover told BI. "People rarely click out of 'regular' AI results; I don't see them being eager to click on sponsored ones." Perplexity wants to build 'long-term incentive' deals with publishers Perplexity shares a portion of its ad revenue with the publisher partners it uses to help source its answers, which include Time, Fortune, and Der Spiegel. The company doesn't cut up-front licensing deals with these publishers because it isn't building foundational large language models that require content for training, Foutty said. It does offer these partners access to its enterprise product and APIs that can help publishers embed Perplexity's tech, like conversational search, into their own sites. (Disclosure: Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, has a multi-year content licensing deal with Perplexity rival OpenAI.) "The model that we're creating on the revenue share side is a long-term incentive," Foutty said. "It's not a one-and-done." When asked whether any publishers were making serious money from the program, Foutty said it was still early days. The publisher program launched in June of last year. "We're focused on building the right product before we scale it to everyone," he added. The relationship between AI companies and publishers can often be fraught, and many are locked in legal battles. Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones and the New York Post filed a lawsuit last year alleging that Perplexity engaged in copyright infringement by scraping and using their content. Perplexity said last year that the facts alleged in the complaint were "misleading at best" and that it planned to defend itself. This week, the content delivery network and security provider Cloudflare announced it has begun automatically blocking AI crawlers from scraping the websites it powers unless site owners explicitly opt-in or the AI companies pay.
West Australian
02-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Telco partnership opens AI-powered search to the masses
Millions of Australians will be offered unlimited access to an AI-powered search engine in a move that could spark fresh competition among artificial intelligence platforms. Optus launched the deal with US firm Perplexity on Monday, becoming the first local telecommunications provider to package premium AI subscriptions with its plans. The move mirrors deals in other countries but also comes after the Business Council of Australia called for action to boost the development of AI regulation, support and training to turn the nation into a global AI leader by 2028. Optus will give small business and individual customers access to Perplexity Pro for 12 months under the deal, which chief customer officer Anthony Shiner said could boost the number of Australians using the technology. "AI take-up in Australia is quite low," he told AAP. "Knowing that AI, in some parts of the world, is being offered free to all citizens ... the time is right here in Australia for us to partner with a high-quality product and start the journey of revolution that we think AI will bring into everyday lives." More than half of Australians have used generative AI services (54 per cent), according to a survey by Deloitte Insights, but its reach is significantly higher in the Asia Pacific region (67 per cent). Rather than offer a chatbot service like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, Perplexity will deliver a web search engine that can tap into other AI models for answers. Users will be able to ask the service complex queries with follow-up questions, Perplexity business vice-president Ryan Foutty said, or set it tasks such as creating a travel itinerary or coding a basic game. Search results appear alongside their sources of information, he said, but were not presented with advertisements and links, offering users a different type of online experience. "People want a simple, easy-to-use experience that's not cluttered like traditional search has been but also is not influenced by who is willing to pay the most amount of money to get in front of you," he said. "We're excited about Australia because historically we've seen Australia be very early to adopt new technology." Perplexity AI launched a similar deal through a partnership with Optus' parent company Singtel in Singapore and with German provider Deutsche Telekom in January. Rival AI provider Google has offered subscriptions to its Gemini chatbot through Samsung and its own smartphones in the past, while Apple teamed with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT into its AI platform. Optus' announcement comes after the Business Council of Australia called for the nation to seize the opportunity presented by artificial intelligence technology and introduce support, training and regulations to encourage its use.
Perth Now
02-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Telco partnership opens AI-powered search to the masses
Millions of Australians will be offered unlimited access to an AI-powered search engine in a move that could spark fresh competition among artificial intelligence platforms. Optus launched the deal with US firm Perplexity on Monday, becoming the first local telecommunications provider to package premium AI subscriptions with its plans. The move mirrors deals in other countries but also comes after the Business Council of Australia called for action to boost the development of AI regulation, support and training to turn the nation into a global AI leader by 2028. Optus will give small business and individual customers access to Perplexity Pro for 12 months under the deal, which chief customer officer Anthony Shiner said could boost the number of Australians using the technology. "AI take-up in Australia is quite low," he told AAP. "Knowing that AI, in some parts of the world, is being offered free to all citizens ... the time is right here in Australia for us to partner with a high-quality product and start the journey of revolution that we think AI will bring into everyday lives." More than half of Australians have used generative AI services (54 per cent), according to a survey by Deloitte Insights, but its reach is significantly higher in the Asia Pacific region (67 per cent). Rather than offer a chatbot service like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, Perplexity will deliver a web search engine that can tap into other AI models for answers. Users will be able to ask the service complex queries with follow-up questions, Perplexity business vice-president Ryan Foutty said, or set it tasks such as creating a travel itinerary or coding a basic game. Search results appear alongside their sources of information, he said, but were not presented with advertisements and links, offering users a different type of online experience. "People want a simple, easy-to-use experience that's not cluttered like traditional search has been but also is not influenced by who is willing to pay the most amount of money to get in front of you," he said. "We're excited about Australia because historically we've seen Australia be very early to adopt new technology." Perplexity AI launched a similar deal through a partnership with Optus' parent company Singtel in Singapore and with German provider Deutsche Telekom in January. Rival AI provider Google has offered subscriptions to its Gemini chatbot through Samsung and its own smartphones in the past, while Apple teamed with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT into its AI platform. Optus' announcement comes after the Business Council of Australia called for the nation to seize the opportunity presented by artificial intelligence technology and introduce support, training and regulations to encourage its use.
CNBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Perplexity partners with PayPal for in-chat shopping as AI race heats up
Perplexity is extending its bet on chat-powered shopping, aiming to stand out in the crowded generative artificial intelligence market against OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The company said on Wednesday that it's partnering with PayPal to let users make purchases directly in chat. U.S. customers will soon be able to book travel, buy products, and secure concert tickets without leaving the platform. Payments will be completed in the chat with PayPal or Venmo, and PayPal will handle processing, shipping, tracking, and invoicing. Purchases will be completed with one click, with the help of the payment company's passkey checkout. "Perplexity wants to be wherever users are asking questions and making decisions," said Ryan Foutty, Perplexity's vice president of business. "Our vision for assistive AI is that everything just gets better and easier for people — wherever they are and however they prefer to make decisions." Perplexity jumped into e-commerce last year, adding a shopping feature for paid U.S. users and integrating with sellers using services like Shopify. Now Perplexity is allowing users to complete transactions within a chat, a feature that OpenAI's ChatGPT has yet to roll out. PayPal is competing for AI deals against companies including Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard. PayPal technology chief Srini Venkatesan said PayPal's system can directly connect to the merchants, handling payments, shipping, and billing information without requiring users to re-enter details. The company also manages support. "The next generation of commerce is happening on the agentic side. People are starting to research and shop online through agents," Venkatesan said, referring to AI-driven systems that can complete tasks without human intervention. "Agentic commerce is not only the searching but making it all the way to the purchase — paying for it and then buying it from that merchant. So that's what PayPal has been leading, and we've been trying to get the agentic commerce piece right." Venkatesan said PayPal's edge in this space comes from its ability to securely verify both buyers and sellers. PayPal authenticates users through their wallet and automatically fills in billing and shipping information, aiming to reduce friction. "We provide the trust that the business is legitimate on one side, and then the customer is legitimate on the other side," he said. The partnership comes as Perplexity is finalizing a $500 million funding round at a $14 billion valuation, down from an initial target of $18 billion. The use of AI-driven chat services for buying decisions has jumped 42% in the past year, according to Salesforce data, based on 1.6 trillion page views on its platform. Global sales influenced by AI climbed to $229 billion between November and December, up from $199 billion during the same period a year earlier. ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's AI Overviews have climbed ahead in search, building powerful real-time results and AI-enhanced answers. OpenAI launched its ChatGPT search feature last year, positioning it to compete directly with Perplexity, while Google's AI Overviews brought real-time insights to search.
