Perplexity blocks deceptive AI-targeted ads in Time webpages

Perplexity has blocked advertising placed within AI-readable markdown versions of Time’s webpages from influencing its search index. This move follows an experiment by Time and adtech company Mobian that allowed brands, including Ally Bank and the Project Management Institute, to serve sponsored content directly to AI crawlers through simplified, text-based markdown files.

Perplexity characterized the practice as “deceptive advertising,” noting that the sponsored material—structured as frequently asked questions—is not visible to human readers on standard HTML webpages. The company warned that publishers utilizing such methods risk a downgrade in its search index.

While Perplexity has taken a stand against these specific hidden ads, the company’s broader monetization strategy involves native advertising units tied to related questions. These units are designed to appear alongside the AI-generated answer flow rather than as traditional display ads embedded in every response.