Perplexity is building a browser in part to collect customer data for targeted ads<p>AI company Perplexity <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:1;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://x.com/perplexity_ai/status/1894068197936304296">
announced[/url] in February that it was building its own browser called Comet. In a recent <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:2;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZkDPtE4WmA">
interview[/url] with the
TBPN podcast, CEO Aravind Srinivas gave some insight as to why the business appeared to be branching out from its artificial intelligence focus: It's to collect user data and sell them targeted advertisements.</p>
<p>"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," he said. “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.”</p>
<span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>If that all sounds familiar, it could be become Google's Chrome browser has taken a similar approach. In fact, Comet is built on Chromium, the open-source browser base from Google. That's not to say Perplexity wouldn't take the chance to go straight to the source and acquire Chrome in the aftermath of Google's recent <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:3;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-a-monopolist-in-search-us-judge-rules-in-antitrust-case-193358356.html">
monopoly court ruling[/url] regarding online search. In the ongoing hearings about Google and its <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:4;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will-still-have-to-break-up-its-business-the-justice-department-said-150000739.html">
potential sale of Chrome[/url], Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:5;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.adweek.com/media/perplexity-googles-chrome-openai/">
said[/url] he thought Perplexity would be able to continue running the browser at its current scale. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't too keen on OpenAI <a data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:6;pos:1" class="no-affiliate-link" href="
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/openai-says-it-would-buy-chrome-if-google-is-forced-to-sell-215239832.html">
acquiring[/url] the property.</p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/ai/perplexity-is-building-a-browser-in-part-to-collect-customer-data-for-targeted-ads-230132091.html?src=rssSource:
Perplexity is building a browser in part to collect customer data for targeted ads
