As artificial intelligence reshapes how people consume information online, publishers are struggling to survive. The rise of AI-generated summaries and features like Google’s AI Overviews has slashed the number of clicks that once sustained digital media outlets. But Perplexity believes it has a solution: Comet Plus, a new $5/month subscription designed to ensure publishers still get paid, even when users don’t click through to their sites.
The Problem: AI Cannibalizing Clicks
Traditionally, online publishing was fueled by search-driven traffic. Users would type a query into Google or another search engine, scroll through the results, and click on the link that promised the best answer. Each click generated much-needed ad impressions and revenue for publishers.
But in today’s AI-dominated search landscape, much of that traffic has disappeared. With tools serving instant AI summaries directly on results pages, fewer people actually need to visit the original source. This dynamic has left publishers facing shrinking ad revenue while continuing to bear the costs of producing verified, high-quality information.
Perplexity’s Answer: Comet Plus
Perplexity argues that the internet needs a better funding model for journalism — one that reflects the new ways people use the web.
“With Comet Plus, publishers will finally get compensated whether the reader visits their site, sees their work cited in an AI-generated answer, or interacts with an AI assistant trained on their reporting,” Perplexity explains.
According to the company, there are now three types of traffic that matter:
- Human traffic – readers who actually visit the site.
- Indexed traffic – when AI cites publisher content in answers.
- Agent traffic – when an assistant recommends articles aligned with a user’s context (like meetings or calendar events).
Comet Plus is designed to ensure creators are rewarded across all three categories.
How the Subscription Works
- Cost: $5 per month for users.
- Revenue Model: Subscription fees are distributed to partner publishers based on:
- Direct site visits from search
- Citations in answers
- Agent-driven article recommendations
This way, publishers can earn compensation even if the majority of consumption happens through AI summaries rather than clickable links.
Challenges and Next Steps
The initial list of publisher partners for Comet Plus hasn’t yet been disclosed, though Perplexity has promised announcements once the platform’s free tier fully rolls out.
Still, the model has already drawn attention because it directly addresses the crisis of sustainability in online journalism. Critics argue that unless publishers are compensated for use of their content in AI systems, the entire ecosystem of trustworthy information could collapse, leaving misinformation to thrive unchecked.
Comet Plus may not solve every economic challenge publishers face, but it represents one of the first concrete attempts to fund journalism in the AI age. By recognizing that value is created not just when humans click, but also when AI cites or repurposes publisher content, Perplexity hopes to keep digital media alive as user habits evolve.
Whether this $5/month subscription model catches on will depend on how many publishers join and whether readers believe it supports a more sustainable, trustworthy internet.