Perplexity has no reported agreement in place to buy TikTok— but that didn’t stop the AI-powered search engine from sharing its plans for the embattled video-sharing app in a blog post Friday.
“Perplexity is singularly positioned to rebuild the TikTok algorithm without creating a monopoly, combining world-class technical capabilities with little tech independence,” the blog post reads.
Perplexity’s plans for TikTok start with overhauling the app’s “black box” For You feed by rebuilding its algorithm as a fully transparent, open-source model. It would also develop and maintain the necessary infrastructure to operate the app in “American data centers with American oversight.”
On the back-end, Perplexity said its advanced AI infrastructure, powered by Nvidia Dynamo, “could easily scale TikTok’s recommender models 100 times while achieving faster inference speed.”
Perplexity proposed bringing the citations that accompany its search results to TikTok videos to help users identify reliable information, and said its large language model orchestration can enrich TikToks with more context and multilingual capabilities. On the flip side, TikTok videos could be added to search results on Perplexity.
“Combining Perplexity’s answer engine with TikTok’s extensive video library would allow us to build the best search experience in the world, providing both TikTok and Perplexity users with the answers they seek, anywhere, anytime, no matter the medium,” it wrote.
The company said users who connect their accounts on both platforms would have a more personalized experience.
“Combining Perplexity’s expertise in delivering accurate, trustworthy answers with TikTok’s vibrant, creative community and extensive video library would be a win for everyone,” the blog post reads. “A TikTok rebuilt and powered by Perplexity would create the world’s greatest platform for creativity and knowledge discovery.”
TikTok’s uncertain future
Perplexity’s bid for TikTok comes as the future of the Chinese-owned app continues to hang in the balance.
TikTok faced a ban in the on U.S. Jan. 19 under the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was passed by Congress last April and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court in January.
The app went dark in the U.S. for roughly 14 hours Jan. 18 and 19, but it was restored after President Donald Trump, who had not yet taken office, said would issue an executive order postponing the ban.Trump made good on his promise hours after his inauguration Jan. 20, signing an executive order that gave TikTok and ByteDance until April 5 to find a U.S. buyer.
