Perplexity must also ensure its sponsored questions are relevant, Larson added.

“We all remember when native recommendation widgets went wrong by propagating spammy ads about belly fat and celebrity gossip,” he said.

Brands are also wary of brand safety and transparency. They don’t want the related questions they sponsor to show up against queries they don’t want to be associated with. This will be on top of mind for advertisers if they consider shifting spend, said David Shapiro, svp of earned media at NP Digital.

“If there’s any risk related to brand safety risk and ROI because of limited reach, that’s not a tradeoff that advertisers are going to want to make,” Shapiro said.

As Perplexity finalizes its product scope plans, “brand safety will be a paramount priority,” said Shevelenko.