News Summary

Perplexity, an AI search engine, successfully increased its mobile app installs by 50% through a clever Super Bowl contest. Instead of investing in a costly advertisement, Perplexity’s CEO Aravind Srinivas announced a contest via a social media post. Users were encouraged to download the app and ask five questions during the Super Bowl to enter a chance to win $1 million. This strategy not only boosted app downloads but also helped familiarize users with the app’s AI search capabilities. By Sunday, Perplexity’s app downloads rose to 45,000 from a daily average of 30,000. The app also climbed in the U.S. App Store’s charts, reaching No. 6 in the Productivity category and No. 66 overall. Despite not having the broad reach of ads from competitors like Google and OpenAI, Perplexity’s approach effectively demonstrated the app’s practical use and attracted a significant number of new users.