Q: Is Perplexity a contender to buy Google Chrome?

AI also-ran Perplexity won a galaxy of headlines this week by making a pre-emptive US$34 billion bid to buy Google’s dominant web browser.

Of course it wants it. Chrome directs 66 per cent of all web traffic, and whoever has it has the data for a US$200 billion ad business and a way to super-charge AI training.

But there are three very good reasons why Perplexity has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting its hand on the most valuable digital ad accelerator the world has ever seen.

First, join me in welcoming a crowd of new subs in what’s been the fastest grown of new sign-ups to the newsletter in a year. Great to have you.

Hi then to the leadership team at Magnite, the commercial team at The Guardian, The New York Post product team, The Financial Times in London, La Nacion in Argentina, the agency team at Amazon Ads, global consultants Edelman (publishers of the trust barometer), Australian radio giant ARN, advisors Kekst CNC in Riyadh, Nexxen in Japan, the UK’s University of Westminster, the US bureau of Aussie broadcaster Nine, among more than 100 others. Please share with your friends and join the party 🥳

And don’t forget, we are now days from hearing how Judge Amit Mehta intends to break up Google’s illegal monopoly on search.

But first, Perplexity ain’t gonna meet muster on getting Chrome ‘cos…