Perplexity AI has officially announced "Comet Plus," a new publisher program designed to support quality journalism and the sustainable growth of publishers in the age of AI[1]. For a $5 per month (about 800 yen) subscription, users and AI assistants can directly access articles from leading news outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, and Le Monde[1]. Comet Plus is drawing attention as a new revenue-sharing model tailored to the AI era, moving beyond reliance on clicks alone.

$5 Per Month, Free for Perplexity Pro and Max Users

Comet Plus is offered as a subscription priced at $5 per month (about 800 yen)[1]. Users who already subscribe to Perplexity Pro or the higher-tier Perplexity Max can use Comet Plus at no additional cost[1].

Subscribers gain direct access to high-quality journalism from participating publishers through Perplexity's answer interface[1]. Answers generated by Perplexity's AI assistant also integrate articles from these outlets as trusted sources[1].

Perplexity positions the program as part of "a new information ecosystem where AI and journalism coexist," with the aim of increasing the transparency and accuracy of AI-generated summaries and answers[1].

※1 USD = 159 JPY (as of May 27, 2026)

CNN, The Washington Post, and Other Major Outlets as Initial Partners

The initial launch partners of Comet Plus are all globally recognized news and culture outlets[1]. The following publishers are participating from the start[1]:

  • CNN
  • Condé Nast (including The New Yorker, WIRED, Vogue, and Vanity Fair)
  • Fortune
  • Le Figaro
  • Le Monde
  • The Los Angeles Times
  • The Washington Post

The lineup spans hard news, in-depth analysis, fashion, culture, and business. Perplexity says the partners enable users to "directly access a wide range of high-quality information, from major global news to in-depth analysis and culture features"[1].

The participation of Condé Nast is particularly significant, since a single subscription now covers everything from WIRED's tech reporting to culture features in Vogue and Vanity Fair[1]. By organizing a new pathway through which readers reach these articles via AI answers, the program also functions as a tool for publishers to expand their reader touchpoints.

Moving Beyond Clicks: Publishers Paid on Three Metrics

The most distinctive feature of Comet Plus lies in its revenue-sharing model for publishers[1]. Traditional web media have relied on human visits and page views as the primary basis for ad revenue. In the AI era, however, Perplexity notes that information is consumed in increasingly diverse ways—not only by people reading articles directly, but also by AI generating summaries and AI agents leveraging articles for tasks[1].

In response, Comet Plus distributes revenue to publishers based on three metrics[1]:

  • Human Traffic (visits by people)
  • Search Citations (citations within AI answers)
  • Agent Actions (usage by AI agents)

By including not only clicks and page views, but also how often articles are cited in AI answers and referenced by AI agents in business workflows, the program aims to "move away from click-centric evaluation and toward a structure that rewards the quality of knowledge itself"[1].

For news organizations, this becomes a new channel that makes visible the value of how their content is used in an AI-driven information flow. The model appears well suited to high-quality journalism that has sought to distance itself from a page-view-first mindset.

Perplexity's Strategy of Building a "Better Internet"

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, commented on Comet Plus: "A better internet begins with Comet. With Comet Plus, the knowledge of great journalists and news organizations is added, and a more trustworthy internet becomes a reality"[1].

Perplexity has long emphasized credibility through its AI search engine that provides answers with citations. Founded in 2022 by engineers from OpenAI, Meta, Quora, Bing, and Databricks, the company now handles more than 200 million queries per week[1].

Comet Plus represents an extension of Perplexity's stated direction to "rebuild an information environment centered on trust, accuracy, and curiosity, rather than the click and ad revenue model that has long dominated the internet"[1]. By packaging an AI answer engine together with a revenue-sharing model for news outlets, Perplexity is highlighting a strategy that few rivals have committed to so explicitly.

The company already offers a suite of Comet-branded products, including the AI browser Comet and the AI agent Comet Assistant. Comet Plus sits on top of that stack as a premium information layer[1]. As more publishers join and partnerships with Japanese news outlets expand, Japanese users may also gain easier access to major overseas reporting through AI-driven entry points.

Summary

Comet Plus is a new subscription that gives users access to leading global news outlets through Perplexity for $5 per month (about 800 yen). Publishers are paid based on three indicators—Human Traffic, Search Citations, and Agent Actions—a design that presupposes how information is consumed in the age of AI. The participation of CNN, The Washington Post, Le Monde, and other major outlets has made the launch a notable industry event. As articles are increasingly consumed through search and AI agents rather than direct visits, Comet Plus stands out as a model case for a new relationship between AI companies and journalism.

出典:https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000016.000157647.html