ETtech Explainer: The New York Times’ copyright battle against Perplexity AI

The New York Times (NYT) has sued artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI, alleging the company repeatedly used its content without permission. NYT claims Perplexity copied, displayed, and distributed millions of its articles to train and develop its chatbot systems.

According to the lawsuit, NYT contacted Perplexity multiple times over the past 18 months, asking the startup to stop using its material until proper terms were negotiated. Despite this, NYT says Perplexity continued to rely on its content.

What are the accusations?

NYT alleges…