Let’s face it: Internet advertising is a fixture of life in the 21st century. Since 2002, Google has deployed features designed to monetize browsing habits and provide data to marketing companies based on advertising scheme optimizations.
Currently, the embarrassment of AI companies wants to further optimize the way AI is sucking data to sell on profits.
As TechCrunch discovered, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said in a YouTube podcast earlier this week that his company is working on an AI browser aimed at tracking more powerful users than they’ve ever tracked.
“Once you’ve fully understood the user, you can probably trust you if you see relevant sponsored content as long as it’s very personalized and over-optimized to them.” “If any of the AI companies can do that, I think it might be something that the brand can pay more to promote it there.”
Srinivas planned, just as companies like Facebook and Google have been arrested (and certainly still): “We want to get data outside of the app to get you better.”
Perplexity’s AI browser is named Comet and was first teased by the company in February. As a relatively young software, it is not yet clear what kind of surveillance Perplexity browsers will be available, but its privacy policy currently discloses personal information to advertisers, business partners and other third parties.
The company emphasizes that these terms are not “selling” or “sharing” personal information, as they are defined under California’s Consumer Privacy Act. “We’ve never done that in the last 12 months.” (Unless this line is updated, it’s hard to imagine how comets will change the benefits of hyper-personal ad surveillance.)
Aside from privacy issues, comets face a difficult battle as they enter the turbulent market.
Dominant player Google is probably the godfather of data monetization – recently declared monopoly by federal judges, and it’s not just baffling trying to box out Google.
Sam Altman’s Openai throws a hat in the ring if Google is forced to abandon Chrome. This move can provide an immeasurable amount of data to train AI models and boost your own AI browser.
Other small players in the game include upcoming DIA and Wavebox by browser companies. This is part of a growing wave of startups pushing AI-powered alternatives for current slop scattering browsers that we knew and loved.
With all the fuss about “related sponsor content” and “ultra-optimized ads,” Endgame is clear. All of these companies believe that new AI tools will allow you to scrutinize everything you do in your browser.
Monitoring details: Alarm app requires you to watch ads to press the “Snooze” button
