Perplexity CEO: Google's Ad Business Prevents Them From "Killing" AI Challenger

Google has had "2 years to kill Perplexity and hasn't" because doing so would disrupt their advertising business model that relies on users clicking through links rather than getting direct AI answers, according to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas.

In a wide-ranging Reddit AMA session addressing the competitive landscape between traditional search engines and emerging AI answer platforms, the Stanford AI researcher offered a candid assessment of why Google hasn't leveraged its resources to eliminate smaller competitors, writes End of Miles.

Ad Revenue vs. Direct Answers

Srinivas pointed to a fundamental business model conflict that constrains Google's response to AI-first search challengers like Perplexity.

"The reason [Google hasn't eliminated us] is simply not wanting to disrupt their ads business that relies on having people click through links," Srinivas explained. "Think about it: if an AI gave you direct answers to the score in a basketball game, or even better, fired the widget to you as a push notification when the game started without you even having to query, if it knew for sure you were interested in that team/game, how can you sell ticketmaster ads?" Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity CEO

The AI company executive's remarks highlight the tension between Google's primary revenue source and the direction AI search technology is heading. While Google has introduced AI-powered features in search results, the Perplexity leader suggests these implementations are restrained by revenue concerns.

A Different Competitive Approach

Despite acknowledging Google as "a true tech behemoth" that's "impossible to kill," the Perplexity founder expressed confidence in his company's approach to challenging the search giant's core business.

"Our goal is to change the future of search, and Google Search pays for everything else they do. It's genuinely the first time someone emerged as a competitor to the crown jewel of Google." Srinivas

The tech entrepreneur specifically identified Google Gemini as Perplexity's "main rival" in the deep research space, outlining a strategy to compete through "better tool use capabilities, proprietary data providers, and cheaper costs" using open source models rather than developing proprietary ones.

Imitation and Evolution

The AI company head claimed Google has been borrowing design and functionality ideas from Perplexity, while acknowledging his firm has done the same.

"You can see that based on how their AI Mode is literally a clone of Perplexity, or how their Deep Research is just using the same UIs we built for Pro Search and Reasoning. We have copied a lot of things from them too in terms of verticals and widgets." The Perplexity CEO

The venture-backed startup, which raised $73.6 million earlier this year at a $520 million valuation, continues to expand its offerings with a delayed browser called Comet and other AI-powered features. Srinivas maintains that as user preferences shift toward direct answers rather than traditional search results, Google faces increasing pressure to evolve its business model beyond link-based advertising.