Perplexity’s AI assistant arrives on Android with a big promise: to be the first truly useful assistant on your phone, surpassing previous developments.
Why it matters. This isn’t just another AI app. Perplexity integrates real-time web searches, multitasking controls, and advanced automation into an interface that aims to understand the context of your needs.
Context. Current mobile assistants are limited and often frustrating compared to the capabilities of AI chatbots. Perplexity aims to overcome these limitations by facilitating coherent conversations while executing tasks across different apps.
In other words, it merges the capabilities of an AI chatbot with a traditional assistant:
- Perplexity’s AI assistant integrates with popular apps like Uber, Spotify, and YouTube, as well as messaging and clock apps. More app integrations are on the way.
- It’s multimodal, supporting voice, text, and camera inputs.
- The assistant can “see” what’s displayed on your screen.
- It’s available in 15 languages.
- It maintains context between actions.
- It can access real-time information through web reading.
Reading between the lines. The most significant aspect of Perplexity’s Android assistant is its ability to maintain context. For instance, if you inquire about Italian restaurants near your location, the assistant can automatically make reservations at a place that aligns with your previous preferences and typical dining schedule. Context is key.
Further examples include:
- Using the camera, it can identify a product, even if it’s just launched. The Verge reported its success in detecting a promotional toy released only two days before.
- It can compose and send emails while maintaining your usual writing style.
- It can manage your calendar by creating contextual events. For example, you might say, “Remind me to take my heart medication two hours before bedtime.”
- You can even ask it to “Play the song that plays at the end of Interstellar.”
The big question. Can Perplexity unseat Google’s Assistant or at least effectively compete with ChatGPT by carving out its own niche?
While this challenge isn’t easy, Perplexity is in a strong position. The AI startup is already valued at $9 billion, giving it the financial and technological resources to make a serious attempt.
In depth. The true power of the new Android assistant lies in its proprietary search engine, which enables it to provide up-to-date and accurate answers. This advantage allows it to surpass the limitations of chatbots that rely solely on pre-trained systems.
Users can activate the new assistant through the Perplexity app. This will replace Google’s native assistant. If you’re wondering whether it’ll come to iOS, the situation is a bit complicated. The company remains open to this possibility. “We’d love to make it available on iOS, and if Apple gives us the right permissions, we’ll make it happen,” a Perplexity spokesperson told Reuters.
Image | Perplexity
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