AI-powered search engine Perplexity has unveiled its new feature, Perplexity Assistant, which is now available for Android users. Designed to simplify daily tasks, the assistant combines reasoning, search capabilities, and apps to offer a seamless experience for users across multiple functions.
A versatile assistant for everyday tasks
Perplexity Assistant can integrate with various apps to perform a range of actions. For example, it can hail a ride, search for songs, or even create calendar entries by retrieving relevant dates and times from the web. Because Perplexity’s search engine powers the assistant, it has direct access to the internet, allowing it to carry out tasks like event reminders or making restaurant reservations effortlessly.
One standout feature is its multimodal functionality, which allows the assistant to use your phone’s camera to answer questions about your surroundings or the content displayed on your screen. It also retains context between actions, meaning you can ask it to research nearby restaurants and reserve a table without repeating your instructions.
The assistant supports 15 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Hindi, making it widely accessible. For now, it’s free to all Perplexity users, offering an easy entry point from which to experience its capabilities.
Room for improvement
We are excited to launch the Perplexity Assistant to all Android users. This marks the transition for Perplexity from an answer engine to a natively integrated assistant that can call other apps and perform basic tasks for you. Update or install Perplexity app on Play Store. pic.twitter.com/FSRDLtVWzB
— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) January 23, 2025
While Perplexity Assistant shows promise, it isn’t without its flaws. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas acknowledged in posts on X (formerly Twitter) that some actions may not function perfectly. For instance, the assistant can summarise unread emails or check upcoming calendar appointments only through a temporary notifications-based workaround. Srinivas noted that updates to address these issues are planned in the coming months.
Assistant is multimodal, so you can tell it to turn on the camera and ask about what you see in front of you, or on your screen. pic.twitter.com/Jxg6m6WUV3
— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) January 23, 2025
This isn’t the first time Perplexity has faced challenges with its product launches. Previous features, such as its shopping function designed to let users place orders without visiting retailer websites, were criticised for being slow and prone to errors.
A growing player in the AI market
The release of Perplexity Assistant comes shortly after the company introduced Sonar, an API service that allows businesses and developers to integrate Perplexity’s generative AI search tools into their applications. Additionally, the company recently acquired Read.cv, a social platform for professionals.
Founded in 2022, Perplexity has attracted significant attention, raising over US$500 million in venture capital and achieving a valuation of US$9 billion. The platform handles more than 100 million queries weekly and continues to expand through advertising programs and other monetisation efforts.
However, the company is not without controversy. Perplexity has faced legal action from publishers, including Dow Jones and the New York Post, over claims that its platform repurposes content without proper licensing. In October, The New York Times also issued a cease-and-desist notice. Despite this, Perplexity asserts that it respects publisher content and offers a revenue-sharing program to address these concerns.
