When you type queries or submit any content to Perplexity, you give the company a broad, free license to use that content in many ways, including to train and improve its AI models.
This analysis describes what Perplexity AI's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This clause means that queries, uploaded documents, and other content submitted through Perplexity may be used to train AI models, not just to respond to the immediate search request. This has implications for users who submit proprietary, confidential, or sensitive personal information.
The agreement states that submitted content, including search queries and any uploaded materials, may be used for AI model training and service improvement under a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license. Users who submit confidential business information, personal data about third parties, or sensitive personal information through the service should be aware of this license scope.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Content License for AI Training and Service Improvement and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →Monitoring
Perplexity AI has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 10 platforms.
"By submitting, posting, or displaying content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute such content in any and all media or distribution methods now known or later developed. You agree that this license includes the right for Perplexity to use your content to provide, maintain, and improve the Services, including to train machine learning models.— Excerpt from Perplexity AI's Perplexity Terms of Service
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages GDPR Article 6 (lawful basis for processing) and Article 5 (purpose limitation) for EU/EEA users, as using query data submitted for search purposes to train AI models may require a distinct lawful basis or clear disclosure of secondary processing purposes. CCPA and CPRA require disclosure of personal information use categories and may provide California residents with rights to limit use of sensitive personal information. The EU AI Act may impose additional transparency and data governance requirements on AI systems trained on user data. The FTC has authority over deceptive data use practices under the FTC Act. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The sublicensable nature of the license means Perplexity may share submitted content with third-party AI infrastructure or model providers. Enterprise users whose employees submit proprietary business information, client data, or regulated data categories face material risk that such data enters AI training pipelines without adequate safeguards. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA users have GDPR rights to object to processing and to request erasure of personal data, which may create tension with the perpetual scope of an AI training license. California residents may invoke CPRA rights to limit use of sensitive personal information. Organizations subject to HIPAA should treat any clinical or patient data as categorically excluded from submission through this service given the absence of a Business Associate Agreement. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Procurement and legal teams should classify Perplexity as a data processor or service provider under applicable frameworks and assess whether Perplexity's data processing agreements are consistent with this content license. The sublicensing right means downstream data flows to third parties should be assessed in vendor risk management processes. Organizations should update acceptable use policies to prohibit submission of confidential or regulated data through the service. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should conduct a data flow assessment to identify whether employee use of Perplexity results in personal data or confidential business information being submitted and processed under this license. Consent and transparency mechanisms should be evaluated to ensure users are clearly informed of AI training data use at the point of submission. For EU deployments, a legitimate interests assessment or other lawful basis documentation should be prepared for this secondary use of query data.
Full compliance analysis
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Free: track 1 platform + weekly digest. Watcher: 10 platforms + same-day alerts. No credit card required.
Professional Governance Intelligence
Need to monitor specific governance provisions?
Professional includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.
Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.
This clause means that queries, uploaded documents, and other content submitted through Perplexity may be used to train AI models, not just to respond to the immediate search request. This has implications for users who submit proprietary, confidential, or sensitive personal information.
The agreement states that submitted content, including search queries and any uploaded materials, may be used for AI model training and service improvement under a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license. Users who submit confidential business information, personal data about third parties, or sensitive personal information through the service should be aware of this license scope.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Perplexity AI.