Perplexity AI, the fast-rising AI search engine, has launched a striking new ad campaign featuring Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae. In a gripping scene, Lee finds himself trapped inside a mysterious room, forced to answer a series of challenging questions to escape. But the most attention-grabbing moment takes a subtle swipe at Google’s notorious AI misstep from last year.
In one tense moment, Lee faces a critical question: “How do I make cheese stick to a pizza?” Turning to a fictional search engine called “Poogle,” he receives a shocking answer—one that recalls Google’s AI Overviews blunder. The AI suggests mixing Elmer’s glue into the sauce to help the cheese stick.
This moment isn’t just clever scripting. It mirrors a real incident where Google’s AI Overview, designed to pull information from the web and summarize answers, bizarrely recommended adding glue to pizza sauce. The error quickly went viral, sparking widespread backlash and raising questions about the reliability of AI-generated search results.
In the ad, visibly unimpressed by Poogle’s answer, Lee turns to Perplexity’s AI assistant. Calm and precise, the assistant offers a far more helpful response: “Use fresh, low-moisture mozzarella. Don’t use glue.”
The scene is both witty and strategic. It positions Perplexity as a smarter, more reliable alternative in the growing AI search war. By addressing one of Google’s most infamous AI mistakes, the ad cleverly highlights the trust gap many users feel toward AI-powered search engines today.
While Google pushes forward with AI Overviews—planning to roll it out for even more search queries, whether users want it or not—Perplexity is doubling down on accuracy. It brands itself as an “answer engine,” promising users verified responses instead of AI hallucinations.
Yet, Perplexity hasn’t escaped criticism either. Some publishers have accused the platform of plagiarizing content, claiming that the AI tool scrapes information without proper attribution. This controversy adds fuel to the ongoing debate around AI, content ownership, and responsible technology use.
This bold campaign signals a growing shift in the search landscape. Platforms like Perplexity are directly challenging Google’s dominance by offering cleaner, more curated answers—without the strange and sometimes dangerous AI missteps.
For users, the stakes couldn’t be higher. AI search is rapidly changing how people access information online. But as this ad reminds us, accuracy matters. After all, no one wants to ruin their pizza—or risk their health—on bad advice from a search engine.
Perplexity’s choice to feature Lee Jung-jae adds extra star power, tapping into his global fame from Squid Game. His sharp acting drives the narrative home, making the ad not just memorable but a direct commentary on AI’s growing role in our daily searches.
