Travel experts on Perplexity’s bid to buy Google Chrome

Artificial intelligence (AI) engine Perplexity has put in a $34.5 billion bid to purchase Google Chrome.

In a statement to PhocusWire, a Perplexity spokesperson said the offer reflects the company’s dedication to the open web and to user choice and continuity.

The spokesperson outlined several “commitments” it made as part of its offer, including ongoing investment in Chromium, which Chrome is built on, and a pledge to never “stealthily” replace Chrome’s default search engine. The company also said it will make offers to existing Chrome employees and provide over eight years of support for Chrome users.

Google declined to comment. 

Travel industry leaders said the offer comes with complicated context.

“[The proposed bid] is far from a simple, black‑and‑white acquisition, but rather a strategic play layered with contradictions,” said Marina Petrova, co-founder and CEO of Intentful. “On one hand, Perplexity has billed itself as a Google ‘killer,’ yet in its bid it commits to keeping Google Search as the default in Chrome, albeit user‑changeable.”

Perplexity’s bid comes amid Google’s ongoing antitrust battles in the United States and abroad and as AI reshapes search—likely rendering search engine optimization (SEO) obsolete. Perplexity has already entered the travel space through partnerships with Selfbook, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2023, and Tripadvisor.

This isn’t the first time Perplexity has made an offer that’s captured attention either. In January, Perplexity offered to merge with TikTok as the social media platform faced a potential shutdown in the United States.

Analyzing Perplexity’s motivations

Industry leaders’ vary on why Perplexity made a play to acquire Google Chrome.

For Google, giving up Chrome would pose a loss, given that Chrome provides a venue for collecting user data to power Google’s ad machine, according to Marc Mekki, founder and advisor at Inspire Limitless. However, it would be a win for Perplexity.

“I think investors know that, which is why they’ll happily give them [more than $30 billion] to fund the purchase, even if Perplexity is ‘only’ worth $18 billion,” Mekki said. “They wouldn’t just be buying a browser; they’d be buying the internet’s front door. They’ll bypass Google’s search results entirely and serve up AI answers directly to users.”

Mario Gavira, vice president of global growth and brand at Kiwi.com, who has been vocal about the agentic AI and the future of travel, said the bid may serve as a “brilliant power play” to cement the company’s position as an opponent to Google, especially as the search giant sits tight waiting for antitrust rulings.

“It could be a strategic move to capitalize on Google’s regulatory challenges and position themselves prominently in the AI browser space,” Gavira said.

Shir Ibgui, founder and CEO of Globe Thrivers, also said Perplexity’s move was “bold and strategic.”

They wouldn’t just be buying a browser; they’d be buying the internet’s front door. They’ll bypass Google’s search results entirely and serve up AI answers directly to users.

Marc Mekki, Inspire Limitless

“With Chrome’s 3.5+ billion users and the DOJ pushing Google to divest, it would position Perplexity to instantly own the browser layer and fuel its AI search dominance,” Ibgui said. “It’s been a battle between LLMs for control over the inspiration and search layer for a couple of years now, and this move shows they want to skip the slow build.”

Ibgui said she doubts Google wants to let Chrome go. Instead, she sees this as a power play by Perplexity.

However, it could also be a “desperate” move to remain relevant, Gavira said.

“In a landscape where user data is increasingly important to feed AI models with context, chatbots will likely become replaced by AI browsers,” Gavira said, adding that OpenAI and Microsoft are working on AI browsers and Google is adding Gemini-powered AI features into Chrome. 

“Acquiring Chrome could be Perplexity’s only viable way for their recently launched browser ‘Comet’ to leapfrog the distribution power of these giants.”

Is it a publicity stunt?

Additionally, the bid could be a publicity stunt to grab headlines and draw attention to Google’s antitrust case, Gavira said, pointing to Perplexity’s TikTok offer. 

“This strategy allows Perplexity to ‘own a news cycle for a day’ and get people talking about what Perplexity is, its own browser and its big ambitions,” Gavira said. “Despite the bid being formal and backed by ‘multiple large investment funds,’ it is double Perplexity’s own estimated $18 billion valuation; Google has no interest in selling and could appeal any ruling for years.”

Conor Grennan, chief AI architect for New York University’s Stern School of Business, agreed. He posited that the bids for Chrome and TikTok aren’t serious acquisition attempts.

“They’re calculated PR stunts designed to inflate their perceived market position and valuation in the AI arms race,” Grennan said, arguing that the math just doesn’t work.

“Perplexity has raised only $1.5 billion total, yet they’re making offers worth 20 to 35 times their funding,” he said. “Both targets aren’t actually for sale—Google vows to appeal the antitrust ruling while ByteDance won’t sell TikTok.”

Perplexity’s messaging, Grennan said, frames the bid as an “antitrust remedy” and vows to keep Google as the search engine default. Grennan said that is “odd for a search competitor.” Plus, the timing aligns with their valuation’s rapid rise, which he said is up 35-fold from early 2024 when it sat at $520 million.

“When you’re bidding two to three times your own valuation for assets that won’t be sold, you’re playing the attention game, not the acquisition game,” Grennan said.

All things considered, industry leaders said the bid likely has many contributing factors.

“Over recent months, Perplexity has sent mixed messages: at times signaling aggressive data tracking, while at others promising independent, privacy-oriented models,” Petrova said. “Taken together, their actions suggest an attempt to capture both data and market share, wrapped in PR-friendly language that doesn’t always hold up under scrutiny.”

Travel industry impact

It’s unclear whether Perplexity actually could or would purchase Google Chrome. But if a sale like this were to happen, it could alter travel discovery and intensify browser wars, according to Ibgui.

“Travel inspiration isn’t coming from Google search results anymore,” Ibgui said. “It’s happening through TikToks, Reddit threads, Reels, Pinterest and lately more and more through AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity itself.” 

The top-of-funnel, she said, has already shifted from static search to dynamic, social-first discovery. If Perplexity were to own Chrome, it would not only control search but what people see first online.

“That has huge implications for travel. A traveler could go from watching a TikTok video to asking AI where it was filmed, how to get there and what else to do nearby, all without ever landing on a blog, OTA or traditional site,” Ibgui said. “Travel brands would have to rethink how they show up across that entire AI-curated journey.”

Jason Noronha, co-founder of D3x, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2025, views the potential acquisition as fantastic news in terms of leveling the playing field.

Everyone in the travel industry needs to focus now on ensuring their websites are structured and optimized for discoverability across all search and conversational platforms, whether powered by Google, Perplexity or the next generation of AI-driven browsers.

Marina Petrova, Intentful

“After 15 years in hospitality, it’s been frustrating watching the online hotel landscape dominated by Google and Booking.com,” Noronha said. “Fresh competition isn’t just welcome—it’s overdue.” 

Noronha added that the future of travel will be agentic and said AI will seamlessly turn traveler intent into booking.

And while major AI launches—such as that of OpenAI’s Operator—have shown travel as a use case example, the industry is waiting for real-world implementation, and an acquisition like this could change that, Noronha said.

“The technology is already capable,” Noronha said. “If Perplexity were to make this acquisition, it could be the jolt our sector needs—a spanner in the works of a system that has been stagnant (and extractive) for too long.”

The acquisition would mean the end of blue links, with Perplexity becoming the new middleman, providing direct answers, according to Mekki, who characterized that hypothetical situation as “pretty disruptive.” 

“The ripple effects would be huge for everyone else too. Content creators, publishers, businesses that rely on SEO,” Mekki said. “The whole ‘get people to visit your website’ model would need a serious rethink.”

Even without the ramifications of a potential acquisition, search is already shifting.

“The real disruption here is visibility. Ranking on Google isn’t enough anymore,” Ibgui said. “The new game is showing up inside AI workflows. Agentic search is already reshaping SEO, and if this sale went through, we’d be racing even faster toward GEO.”

Gavira said there’s little the travel industry to do with the information for now, and he advised focusing on navigating the ongoing disruption of search marketing.

Petrova was on the same page. Regardless of how Perplexity’s offer plays out, organic traffic will continue to decline, and that’s what travel brands should be paying attention to.

“Everyone in the travel industry needs to focus now on ensuring their websites are structured and optimized for discoverability across all search and conversational platforms, whether powered by Google, Perplexity or the next generation of AI-driven browsers,” Petrova said.