AI platforms are chasing creators hard, even though many creators view them as an existential threat to their livelihoods. The pattern echoes an earlier era: social networks once poured money into TV advertising even though their whole existence was anathema to it.

Perplexity is the latest name in that line. The company has spent recent weeks advertising for an executive to run its creator marketing. The listing is no longer accepting applications, and the company has yet to publicly name who landed the role.

Perplexity said the role was a backfill for an existing position, rather than a newly created creator-marketing function. The person previously in the role moved internally to take on bigger responsibilities, and the position has since been filled.

The scale of the company's creator activity is already substantial. Perplexity said it maintains partnerships with hundreds of influencers, ranging from niche creators to what it described as "cultural juggernauts" — including Lewis Hamilton and Joe Rogan.

For marketers, the move signals that AI search players are willing to spend on influencer partnerships as a distribution channel, despite the tension between AI platforms and the creator economy. Perplexity's bet is that high-profile names can drive awareness and adoption of its product among audiences that traditional performance channels may not reach.

The backfill detail matters. Perplexity is not building a creator function from scratch — it is reinforcing one that already exists, with hundreds of influencer relationships in place and celebrity-tier partners on its roster.

The company has not disclosed the new hire's identity or further details of its creator strategy.

Source: Digiday (https://digiday.com/marketing/perplexity-is-betting-big-on-creators/?utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=general-rss)