How Perplexity, Copilot and Gemini ad models differ

Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and Google’s Gemini-powered search experiences give completely different answers to the question of how to make room for ads next to SI answers. After testing sponsored follow-up questions from 2024, Perplexity announced in February 2026 that it was not pursuing advertising and moved towards a subscription-focused model. Microsoft brings its existing search advertising infrastructure into Copilot, showing ads below the answer with an explanation of why they appear. Google, with formats announced in May 2026, moves ads inside the AI Mode answer and has Gemini generate the ad creative for each query. With ChatGPT Ads now open in Türkiye, the question brands face is no longer just “should I advertise on ChatGPT?” but which logic to follow to be visible on which platform. These differences directly affect decisions from budget allocation to content investment. In this guide, we examine the three approaches separately, place them side by side with ChatGPT and assess what they mean for brands.

Why did Perplexity give up on advertising?

Perplexity gave up on advertising because it concluded that ads would damage trust in its answers. The company started testing sponsored follow-up questions in the US in November 2024. In this format, brands could show sponsored questions about their topics in the related questions area suggested after an answer. In October 2025, it stopped accepting new advertisers, and in February 2026, company executives said they were not pursuing advertising deals.

Perplexity executives argued that users need to believe the answer they see is the best possible answer, and that this belief is critical to the product’s sustainability. The decision shows that having ads and SI answers on the same screen does not lead to the same outcome for every company. While Perplexity’s model relies on subscriptions and enterprise products, platforms with a much larger free user base see advertising as a way to fund access. For brands, the conclusion is clear: there is no ad space to buy on Perplexity, and the only way to be visible on the platform is to be cited organically.

Are Copilot ads an extension of search advertising?

Copilot ads are largely Microsoft’s existing search advertising infrastructure adapted to conversation, although the adaptation comes with a few new layers. Ads appear in an ad block below Copilot’s organic answer, labelled “Sponsored”. In this block, Microsoft uses a short explanation of why Copilot is showing the ad, and ad selection considers the whole conversation in the same session rather than only the user’s latest message. In 2025, the company said that by using signals from the entire conversation, ad relevance metrics in Copilot were 25 percent better than in traditional search.

For advertisers, Copilot’s most distinctive feature is that it does not require a new account structure. Performance Max campaigns can include Copilot placements, and search and product ads can appear in this environment. Microsoft also offers Showroom ads as a pilot with select advertisers, letting users explore a product and ask questions as if they were in a store. In April 2026, it announced Offer Highlights, a format that surfaces offer details that matter at the decision moment, such as free shipping or in-store pickup, within the conversation. Microsoft’s approach lets existing advertisers carry their assets to a new surface easily while gradually adding interactive formats built for conversation.

How is Google moving ads inside the answer?

Google stands apart from other platforms by developing formats that place ads directly inside the SI answer rather than below it. Conversational Discovery ads, announced at Google Marketing Live in May 2026, respond within the answer to a specific question a user asks in AI Mode, with the creative generated in real time by Gemini for each query. The Highlighted Answers format allows eligible ads to appear as a sponsored entry within list-style AI Mode answers. Google states that both formats include an independent SI explainer alongside the advertiser’s content and are clearly labelled “Sponsored”. These formats are currently being tested in the US.

Two other formats announced at the same event make Google’s direction even clearer. AI-powered Shopping ads surface products for a category query and include a custom explainer written by Gemini for each one. Business Agent for Leads replaces static forms with a chat agent embedded in the ad and grounded in the brand’s website. The Direct Offers pilot, launched in January 2026, has also been expanded to cover promotion bundles built per query, native checkout for merchants connected to the Universal Commerce Protocol and travel offers. In Google’s approach, the advertiser’s most important lever is not a ready-made visual or copy, but the richness of product data, the variety of assets and the quality of the landing page.

What do the four approaches show side by side?

When the four platforms are placed side by side, a clear inverse relationship emerges between how close the ad gets to the answer and who controls the creative. Perplexity keeps ads out entirely, ChatGPT and Copilot keep ads in a separate area below the answer, and Google moves them inside it. The closer the ad gets to the answer, the more the work of producing the creative shifts from the advertiser to the platform’s SI.

This table shows that a brand cannot apply the same creative strategy to every platform. In ChatGPT, a well-written headline and the right context hints are decisive, while in Google’s new formats what matters is whether product data and the landing page are clear enough for Gemini to write an accurate explainer.

How do you gain visibility on a platform without ads?

On a platform that offers no ad space, visibility can only be gained by being strongly present in the sources the model draws on to build its answer. Because Perplexity builds its answers by citing web sources, the quality of the brand’s representation in its own website content, mentions in industry publications and comparison pages becomes directly decisive. The same applies to users on ChatGPT Plus and higher plans, who do not see ads; they see only the organic answer.

This requires rebalancing ad budgets and investment in organic visibility. In its GEO consulting work, Webtures breaks down by platform which sources brands are represented through in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot answers, clarifying which content and source investments are needed on surfaces ads cannot reach. When answers to the same prompt set are tracked regularly across platforms with a GEO tool such as Brantial, situations where a brand is strong on platforms where it can advertise but invisible on those where advertising is not possible can be spotted early.

What do these differences change in budget planning?

These differences require building different preparation and measurement logic for each platform, rather than opening a single budget line for SI advertising. For ChatGPT, budget planning revolves around context hints, creative variants and conversion measurement, while for Copilot, reviewing the existing Microsoft Advertising account structure and Performance Max assets can deliver faster results. For Google’s new formats, the most valuable investment is preparing the product feed, asset variety and landing pages before the formats open in Türkiye; Google itself recommends Performance Max and AI Max as the foundation for these formats.

Another point not to overlook in budget allocation is the audiences who see no ads. Perplexity users and ChatGPT’s paid plan users do not see ads, and this audience includes a significant share of professional users with high purchasing power. Part of the total budget set aside for SI channels should therefore go not to direct ad spend, but to content, digital PR and technical improvements that reach these audiences through organic answers. Planning ads and organic visibility not as alternatives but as two complementary channels reaching different audiences is the most efficient way to grow total share in SI search.