Perplexity partners with PayPal for in-chat shopping as AI race heats up

Group 1 - Perplexity is partnering with PayPal to enable users to make purchases directly within chat, enhancing the chat-powered shopping experience [2][3] - The integration allows U.S. customers to book travel, buy products, and secure concert tickets without leaving the platform, aiming to differentiate itself in the generative AI market [2][3] - Perplexity's e-commerce feature was introduced last year, allowing paid U.S. users to shop and integrate with sellers using platforms like Shopify [3] Group 2 - PayPal's technology enables direct connections to merchants, handling payments, shipping, and billing information seamlessly for users [4] - The concept of "agentic commerce" is highlighted, where AI-driven systems facilitate the entire purchasing process without human intervention, with PayPal leading in this area [5] - PayPal's competitive advantage lies in its ability to securely verify both buyers and sellers, reducing friction in transactions [5][6] Group 3 - The partnership is occurring as Perplexity is finalizing a $500 million funding round at a valuation of $14 billion, down from an initial target of $18 billion [6] - The use of AI-driven chat services for buying decisions has increased by 42% in the past year, with global sales influenced by AI rising to $229 billion from $199 billion year-over-year [7]