During the Super Bowl, Perplexity AI adopted a promotional strategy distinct from OpenAI and Google. Instead of investing heavily in Super Bowl ad slots, the company encouraged users to download its app and participate in a competition with a chance to win $1 million via a single cross-platform post on Twitter. According to data from app intelligence provider Appfigures, although Perplexity's app did not reach the top of the US App Store rankings, mobile app installations increased by approximately 50%.
In a cross-platform post shared last Friday, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas explained that users simply needed to download the Perplexity mobile app (if they hadn't already) and ask at least five questions during the Super Bowl game to enter the new contest. The company stated it would select one lucky user to receive the $1 million prize.
This competition strategy not only boosted app installations but also helped users familiarize themselves with how Perplexity AI search works.
By requiring users to ask five questions to participate in the contest, Perplexity assisted users in overcoming the initial learning curve associated with trying a new product. Additionally, by encouraging users to ask questions during the Super Bowl, the company provided a clear discussion topic. After all, during major televised sporting events, people are likely to pick up their phones to look up statistics, facts, or news updates.
Early estimates from the App Store showed that on Sunday, Perplexity saw 45,000 downloads compared to an average of about 30,000 per day the previous week. Appfigures noted this growth propelled Perplexity to sixth place in the productivity category rankings of the US App Store (after the post was published), though it dropped to nineteenth place by Sunday morning before rebounding slightly to sixteenth place.
Meanwhile, Perplexity also climbed in overall popular app rankings, rising from 257th to 66th place (peaking at 49th). Rough estimates suggest that if trends continued, by Monday, downloads could have doubled compared to Sunday.
While Perplexity's cross-platform post did not achieve the broad audience reach of Google and OpenAI's Super Bowl ads (Google promoting Gemini, OpenAI promoting ChatGPT), it may have more effectively demonstrated practical uses for its AI application.
Google's advertisement aimed to paint a broad picture of how AI can integrate into consumer life (after editing following the removal of an incorrect fact). However, the use case shown—helping job seekers refine their resumes by cleverly referencing their experience as full-time fathers—might not resonate with a wide audience of consumers.
Similarly, OpenAI's ad sparked mixed reactions. Some argued that it failed to showcase the practical applications of ChatGPT, focusing too much on artistic and visual elements rather than functionality.
However, Appfigures did not observe significant download increases directly linked to OpenAI and Google's advertisements. Nonetheless, these apps already had substantial download numbers.
