The New York Times has launched a new federal lawsuit against AI search startup Perplexity, escalating efforts by major publishers to challenge unauthorized use of journalistic content in AI products. The complaint alleges that Perplexity reproduces Times reporting without approval or payment, packaging original work into commercial features that compete directly with the newspaper’s offerings.
The suit centers on Perplexity’s retrieval-augmented generation systems, which gather online information — including material behind paywalls — to deliver summaries and near-verbatim text through its chatbot and Comet browser assistant. The Times also claims the platform has attributed fabricated information to its newsroom, harming both brand integrity and subscription value.
This marks the Times’ second major legal action in the AI space, following its ongoing case against OpenAI and Microsoft. Perplexity is already facing similar copyright challenges from leading global publishers as the industry pushes for licensing frameworks that ensure fair compensation for original reporting.
