Perplexity's Super Bowl 'Tweet' Boosts App Installs by 50%

# ai # Apps

Perplexity's Super Bowl contest sure made a splash with their app downloads, even if they skipped the pricey Super Bowl ad. Instead of going the traditional route like OpenAI and Google, Perplexity went with a simple X post to get folks excited about downloading their app and entering a contest where someone could win a cool million bucks. Now, while this didn't shoot their app straight to the top of the U.S. App Store, it did bump up their mobile app installs by about 50%, according to the folks at Appfigures. Perplexity's CEO, Aravind Srinivas, shared the news on Friday. The X post laid it out: download the Perplexity app if you haven't already, and ask at least five questions during the big game. Do that, and you're in the running for that $1 million prize. It was a smart move, not just for boosting downloads but also for getting users comfy with Perplexity's AI search engine. By making folks ask five questions to enter, they helped ease the learning curve for new users. And tying the questions to the Super Bowl? Genius. It gave people a topic to dive into, especially when they were bound to pick up their phones to check a stat or some game-related news. According to early App Store data, Perplexity saw their downloads jump to around 45,000 on Sunday, up from their usual daily average of about 30,000, Appfigures reports. This boost also pushed Perplexity higher in the U.S. App Store's Top Charts. They hit No. 6 in the Productivity chart right after the X post but slipped to No. 19 by Sunday morning, then climbed a bit to No. 16. Their overall app ranking also got a lift, moving from No. 257 to No. 66, after peaking at No. 49. If things keep going well, rough estimates suggest the app might double its download numbers by the end of Monday. Now, while Perplexity's post didn't reach as big an audience as Google and OpenAI's Super Bowl ads for Gemini and ChatGPT, it might've done a better job at showing people how to actually use their AI app. Google's ad tried to show how AI could fit into everyday life, but after having to fix a wrong fact, it focused on a niche use case—helping a job seeker jazz up their resume with references to their time as a stay-at-home dad. Not exactly something that'd catch everyone's attention. OpenAI's ad got mixed reviews too. Some thought it missed the mark by not showing what ChatGPT's app can really do, opting instead for fancy visuals and art over practical use. Appfigures didn't see much movement from OpenAI and Google's ads, but noted that those apps are already pulling in a lot of downloads anyway.

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