AI search startup Perplexity has finalized a multi-year licensing agreement with Getty Images, granting it authorization to integrate and display images from Getty's extensive catalog within its AI-powered search and discovery platforms. This agreement signals a strategic shift for Perplexity, which has previously faced allegations of content scraping and copyright infringement.
Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Perplexity and Getty Images have collaborated for over a year, with Getty reportedly participating in Perplexity's Publishers' Program, an initiative designed to share advertising revenue with content creators. The specifics of the new multi-year agreement have not been fully disclosed, though a source told TechCrunch it is not structured as a traditional lump sum licensing deal, given Perplexity's operational model of not training its own foundational AI models.
The deal follows a period where Perplexity encountered scrutiny, including allegations of plagiarism from various news organizations last year. Instances cited involved the unauthorized use of content, including Getty photos, from sources such as The Wall Street Journal. More recently, Reddit filed a lawsuit against Perplexity in October, alleging "industrial-scale, unlawful" scraping of user data and circumvention of technical data access measures.
Perplexity stated that the licensing agreement with Getty Images will facilitate improved image display, ensure proper attribution, and provide links back to original sources when images appear in search results. Nick Unsworth, Vice President of Strategic Development at Getty Images, commented that the agreement "acknowledges the importance of properly attributed consent and its value in enhancing AI-powered products," according to a Getty Images press release. Jessica Chan, Head of Content and Publisher Partnerships at Perplexity, reinforced this, stating, "Attribution and accuracy are fundamental to how people should understand the world in an age of AI."
This move aligns with Perplexity's broader strategy to address copyright concerns, often by asserting that its use of publicly available content constitutes "fair use," thereby defending against claims of infringement even when content is paywalled or explicitly marked against scraping.
