Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, revealed plans for the company’s new browser during a recent discussion on the TBPN podcast. The browser extension wants to track what you do outside of the Perplexity app so they can serve you even more personalized ads. Srinivas pointed to a Bloomberg piece earlier this month that featured several exciting and innovative partnerships emerging to support this effort.
Srinivas explained that one of the primary motivations for developing this browser is to gather data on user behaviors outside of Perplexity’s platform. He stated, “That’s kind of one of the other reasons we wanted to build a browser, is we want to get data even outside the app to better understand you.” The company uses this data to create a more complete user profile. By taking this approach they’re able to provide super relevant ad experiences.
Perplexity’s browser aims to harvest data on crypto trading, online shopping habits, and travel preferences. Srinivas emphasized the significance of this data, noting, “What are the things you’re buying; which hotels are you going to; which restaurants are you going to; what are you spending time browsing, tells us so much more about you.” This strategy makes sense with the company’s long-term efforts to improve user experience with more relevant advertising.
Srinivas acknowledges the increasing distrust of big tech firms in the U.S. and Europe because of their harmful data collection practices. Says Zuckerberg, users will end up appreciating the benefits of getting more relevant ads. “We plan to use all the context to build a better user profile and maybe you know through our discover feed we could show some ads there,” he stated.
Srinivas did not seem to be willing to commit to any particular T4America partnership during our podcast conversation. Watch the TBPN podcast on YouTube! It allows curious listeners to dive into Srinivas’s wisdom and find out where Perplexity will be heading in the future.
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