Google's Antitrust Trial Reveals Perplexity AI's Struggle with Default Assistant Status on Motorola Phones

Perplexity will come to Moto phones after exec testified Google blocked access

Google's antitrust remedy trial started this week, and the Department of Justice has produced several witnesses to testify about how Google's stranglehold on search has slowed their innovation. On day three, Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko told the court that Google blocked Perplexity from being bundled with Motorola phones, which is precisely the kind of anticompetitive behavior that got it in hot water. It would appear Google is backing away, though, because Perplexity is included with Moto's newly announced flip phones. During questioning on Wednesday, Shevelenko likened Google's mobile integration contracts to a "gun to your head." He claimed that both Motorola and Perplexity, which positions itself as an AI search engine, were interested in a partnership last year, but the phone maker was unable to get out of its Google distribution contract, which prevented it from using a non-Google assistant platform. Google has long required Android device makers to use Assistant on their devices, but Google's launch of Gemini added a sense of urgency. Google is pushing Gemini into every corner of its ecosystem with the aim of catching up to ChatGPT, and it might be working. Motorola's 2024 phones were some of the first to prominently feature Gemini as the default assistant instead of Google Assistant. Apparently, that left no room for Perplexity as OEMs are unwilling to risk their Google revenue-sharing agreements. In his antitrust testimony, Shevelenko noted that having default placement is important but difficult to secure due to Google's omnipresence on phones. He said the process of changing the default is like a "jungle gym," Bloomberg reported. It apparently took Shevelenko 10-15 minutes to change from Gemini to Perplexity on a Motorola phone, and he had to ask the company's IT staff for help. While it's not a setting you'll run across often, it's a bit hyperbolic to claim it takes 15 minutes to swap an app default. The option is in the Default Apps menu, which is two taps deep in the settings. You can also search the settings for "assistant," and the default assistant menu is one of the top results.

Google Blocked Motorola Use of Perplexity AI, Witness Testifies

Google's contract with Lenovo Group Ltd.'s Motorola blocked the smartphone maker from setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant on its new devices, an executive of the startup testified at the search giant's antitrust trial. Perplexity's Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko said Wednesday that the company's efforts to obtain preferential distribution on smartphones from manufacturers and wireless carriers was because of Google contracts, which he said are like a "gun to your head" for a company. His testimony came in the Justice Department's case against Alphabet Inc.'s Google to determine remedies after it was found to have an illegal monopoly in search.

Google's terms kept Perplexity off Motorola's home screen

Google's contract with Lenovo Group Ltd.'s Motorola blocked the smartphone maker from setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant on its new devices, Perplexity's Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko testified at Google's antitrust trial, according to Bloomberg. Shevelenko told Judge Amit Mehta that despite both parties wanting Perplexity's AI app to be the default assistant, Motorola "can't get out of their Google obligations and so they are unable to change the default assistant on the device." Instead, Perplexity's app will come preloaded on new Motorola devices but won't appear on the home screen. Shevelenko said Perplexity has one signed agreement to have its AI assistant pre-installed on a company's devices and is currently negotiating another. A Google executive previously testified that Motorola will add Perplexity to its phones later this year. Perplexity is also in talks with Samsung Electronics Co., according to Bloomberg. The Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Google led to the hearing, which aims to determine a remedy after Google was found to have an illegal monopoly in search. Judge Mehta previously ruled that Google illegally monopolized the search market through payments to smartphone makers, wireless carriers, and browsers. Shevelenko spends 75% of his time working to reach partnerships with carriers and phonemakers to distribute Perplexity's app, describing it as a "jungle gym" to change the default AI assistant from Google's Gemini to Perplexity on an Android phone. He stated that Google's contracts are like a "gun to your head" and that phonemakers and carriers should be liberated from these restrictions. Research: Google's AI eats your clicks Shevelenko credited the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Google for enabling Perplexity's partnerships, saying that Google being "under pressure" has allowed phonemakers, carriers, and browsers to have more dialogue with the company. He also mentioned that Perplexity is working on its own browser, Comet, based on Chromium, Google's open-source version of Chrome. The trial also heard from Sissie Hsiao, Google's former head of Gemini, who described the current AI product environment as highly competitive, with companies frequently releasing new models and innovations every few months.