Social betting platform Polymarket has secured an integration partnership with AI search engine Perplexity, which will result in a strong info-sharing agreement that will add value to both companies and customers. Thus, the search results in Perplexity will be relevant with the different prediction pools that are available in Polymarket and vice versa, information concerning Polymarket will be integrated into the search experiences offered by Perplexity.
Prediction Markets in the Media Landscape
This union is evidence of the new role prediction markets are starting to assume in the overall media mix. Through integrating Polymarket’s betting data with Perplexity’s AI Search, the cooperation uses the rising trend of prediction markets, not only for academic purposes but for the general population’s interpretations of news events. After the integration, people that browse events on Polymarket will be rewarded with summaries of articles highlighted by Perplexity search results. These summaries are designed to give better insight into the events surrounding bets and give the users the information they need to make the right bets. Besides, on Perplexity’s platform, a drop-down search bar will be provided so that the users could submit more specific follow-up questions regarding particular events and thus, be more engaged and interacted.
Polymarket is not just integrating external information; it is also set to leverage Perplexity’s Pages feature, which enables users to create shareable webpages based on their search queries. This functionality will culminate in a dedicated column that showcases these results on Perplexity’s Discover page, further solidifying the partnership’s utility. The aim is to ensure that the flow of information is seamless and operates in real-time, enabling users to receive the insights they need as events unfold.
Visualizing Data for Informed Decisions
Diving deeper, Perplexity will also utilise a selection of data and metrics from Polymarket, including trends related to upcoming elections, to generate visual representations within the platform’s answers. The data visualisations will be produced using AI technology provided by another platform, Tako. These enhancements shows the importance of visual data in understanding complex information, especially as it relates to decision-making in betting and prediction markets.
Shayne Coplan, the founder and CEO of Polymarket, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasising the alignment of missions between the two companies. He noted, “Polymarket has become a go-to destination for people looking to access high signal trusted information on an increasingly noisy web. We see Perplexity as a company engaged in a similar mission, and so investing in deepening our partnership makes perfect sense.”
Polymarket’s Collaboration with Substack Expands Digital Footprint
Following this initiative, Polymarket also received attention for a prior collaboration with Substack, which enables authors on that platform to embed prediction data directly into their articles. Furthermore, Polymarket launched its own Substack newsletter called Oracle, further integrating its offerings into the digital information ecosystem. This reinforces Polymarket’s strategy to remain at the forefront of predictive analytics and betting, especially concerning events of public interest.
Despite its innovative strides, challenges remain. Polymarket is currently geo-blocked for users in the U.S., having faced fines from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022 due to the provision of unlicensed binary options contracts. As reported by The Block, political tensions have also arisen, with several Democratic lawmakers pushing for the CFTC to impose a complete ban on contracts linked to political events. This regulatory landscape adds a layer of complexity to Polymarket’s operations in the United States.
In July, Polymarket experienced a key uplift, reporting over $387 million in trading volume, marking its highest volume month to date. This uptick clearly shows the growing interest and relevance of prediction markets, particularly as they pertain to U.S. election coverage, with the platform increasingly referenced by major news outlets like the Wall Street Journal and even former Presidents.
Perplexity Becomes an API Customer for Polymarket
On Perplexity’s end, this partnership will see it acting as an API customer for Polymarket, with expectations that it will generate revenue through the API calls made by users seeking to inquire about various events on the betting marketplace. Dmitry Shevelenko, chief business officer of Perplexity, acknowledged the diversity of their user base, which includes knowledge workers and developers. While API usage is rapidly growing, it remains secondary to their primary consumer-oriented focus.
Moreover, Shevelenko noted the increasing utilisation of Perplexity’s API by publishers and financial institutions, which indicates the significance and applicability of their technology across different realms.
Despite issues related to plagiarism and content scraping that have plagued Perplexity, the company is committed to transparency, promising to display citations prominently and engage in revenue-sharing agreements with media outlets. Though specific metrics regarding user engagement with sources are not disclosed, reports indicate that the number of users clicking on displayed sources is huge.
