Perplexity Challenges Siri with New AI Voice Assistant for iOS

Perplexity Introduces an iOS Voice Assistant Amid Apple AI Delays

Katelyn is a writer with CNET covering social media, AI and online services. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in media and journalism. You can often find her with a novel and an iced coffee during her time off. Perplexity is introducing a new voice assistant. CEO Aravind Srinivas tweeted that you can use the assistant to answer questions and have it begin tasks like writing emails, playing music or shows, and setting alerts. Many AI companies have introduced or teased voice assistants as part of their offerings, but there's a good reason why Perplexity might be jumping on this for its iOS app in particular. Apple's own AI, called Apple Intelligence, has suffered a series of delays since it was announced in 2024. The company has pulled commercials meant to highlight its advanced AI offerings since the features weren't actually available for users, and it's shifted its top AI leader. The ChatGPT integration with Siri is live (you may need to enable it in your settings), but for the most part, Apple users are still waiting on the truly smarter Siri that Apple promised. That's where Perplexity's iOS mobile app could be a viable alternative, especially for those wanting advanced voice capabilities. Voice modes and mobile apps are two of the ways that AI companies are pursuing in the hopes of winning customers in a crowded market. Perplexity announced on Thursday that its app will come automatically preloaded on the new Motorola Razr phones. ChatGPT launched an advanced voice mode last August after initially pausing the project when a teaser video showed the AI voice to be eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson's voice. Johansson said she did not give the company permission to use her voice, amplifying concerns from actors about how their work is used in the creation of AI. If you're not seeing the voice assistant as an option in your Perplexity app, try updating your app through the Apple app store. Perplexity offers a free plan and paid plans with higher usage limits. Perplexity can use the information you give it for training purposes, but you can opt out in your settings. You can check out the full privacy policy for more information.

Perplexity's AI voice assistant is now available on iOS

Umar Shakir is a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge. Perplexity's iOS App just got an update enabling support for the company's conversational AI voice assistant. Now Apple users can activate the assistant in the app and ask it to perform tasks like writing emails, setting reminders, and making dinner reservations. You can even navigate away from the app and continue to speak to Perplexity, although it doesn't yet support screen sharing like it does on Android. Meanwhile, some of the conversational AI stuff Apple has promised for the Apple Intelligence-powered Siri could still be more than a year away. And unlike Apple Intelligence, Perplexity's assistant can do these things on older devices, like my iPhone 13 mini. When the Android version launched in January, Perplexity's spokesperson told The Verge that it would come to iPhones and iPads once "Apple gives us the right permissions," and apparently that has been worked out. I downloaded Perplexity for the first time on my iPhone today and asked it to set a reminder for me to start cooking at 7PM. I was greeted with a pop-up asking me to give it permission to see my reminders. I accepted, and it added the reminder as I expected. I tried crafting a text message and, as expected, Perplexity asked for access to my contacts. I declined, but I appreciated that the assistant's next step was to prompt me to just say the intended phone number instead of failing completely. I also tried booking a table at a restaurant, as shown in the video demo posted by Peplexity, and its mobile assistant opened Open Table, then entered the dates and times I said out loud. The actions aren't end-to-end, though; you'll still need to complete the process yourself in the window. Perplexity can also open my Uber app and set me up with a ride. Perplexity's voice assistant has other limitations on iOS. You can't ask it to look at your camera and "see" what you see for context, as other AI assistants can, like ChatGPT and Grok. But you can still use the standard text-based chatbot to ask questions about a picture. And you can't ask it to set your iPhone's scheduled alarms for you -- you'll still need Siri for that.

Step aside, Siri: Perplexity's new AI voice assistant for iPhone can take it from here

Move over, Siri. There's a new AI in town threatening to take over your territory. Its name is Perplexity. Also: The top 20 AI tools of 2025 - and the #1 thing to remember when you use them The latest version of Perplexity's iPhone app introduces a new voice assistant designed to perform a variety of tasks. Many of these tasks are typically reserved for Siri, as they are not only interactive but can also access key information on your phone. Just like Siri, you can ask Perplexity's voice assistant to set a reminder, schedule a calendar event, play a song from Apple Music, open a podcast, and get directions via Apple Maps. Simply tell it to perform any of these tasks, and Perplexity will interact with the appropriate app or feature and display the results. Also: Perplexity is the AI tool Gemini wishes it could be For example, ask Perplexity's voice assistant about your appointments for next week. The AI will scan your calendar and both speak and display your upcoming appointments. Ask it to set a reminder to take your cat to the vet tomorrow at 11 a.m., and it will add that task to Apple's Reminders app. Ask it for directions to Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, and the AI will display a map of the route along with a link to open it in Apple Maps with turn-by-turn directions. The voice assistant can handle other tasks, such as composing an email, sending calendar invitations, and booking a ride with Uber. The first time you ask it to perform a system-level task, the AI will request permission to access the specific data, such as your calendar, reminders, or contacts. After that, the process is typically quick and seamless. Perplexity's new skill is an attempt by an AI to take on some of Siri's capabilities. Typically, most AIs do not have this level of access to your iPhone, which is why you cannot ask ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot to play music from your library, add a reminder, or access your iPhone's calendar. This new capability also comes at a time when Apple users have grown frustrated with Siri. Far too often, Apple's voice assistant fails to understand simple requests, misinterprets what you say, or simply gives up instead of helping. Apple has been promising to enhance and improve Siri, but those efforts have been delayed repeatedly. Also: How I made Perplexity AI the default search engine in my browser (and why you should too) Even with Perplexity's new power, there are still many tasks only Siri can accomplish. For example, when I asked Perplexity to send a text message to someone in my contacts, it responded that it cannot send texts directly. Nonetheless, Perplexity's voice assistant is an impressive first attempt at tighter integration with your data. To try the new voice assistant, download and install the Perplexity iOS app if you do not already have it. Otherwise, make sure you are running the latest version. Open the app and sign in with your email address or your Apple or Google account. At the "Ask anything" prompt, tap the audio icon on the right. You can then speak your request. Also: What is Perplexity Deep Research, and how do you use it? To tweak the app, tap the settings icon at the top. Here, you can turn subtitles on or off and switch between two different modes for talking to the AI. You can also choose from six different voices. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

Perplexity's iOS app gets an AI voice assistant

Perplexity has rolled out an update for its iOS app, giving iPhone users access to its AI voice assistant that was initially released for Android users earlier this year. Its voice assistant can perform tasks for the user by browsing the web or accessing other apps for them. If they ask the assistant to find them a table for a specific restaurant, for instance, Perplexity can launch the OpenTable app with the number of people, the date and the time already filled out. The user still has to perform the final action and book a reservation, but it's already laid out for them -- all they have to do is click the button. Users can also ask the assistant to draft emails for them for specific contacts, which they'll have to send themselves, and create reminders for them on the calendar. They can ask it to recommend them spots they could visit, such as restaurants serving food they want to eat, and Perplexity will mark locations on the map. Of course, they can ask the assistant to do web searches for them, such as finding specific videos that Perplexity can open on the YouTube app. As The Verge notes, Perplexity's voice assistant works on older iPhones, unlike Apple Intelligence that only works on the company's more recent models. The iOS assistant also doesn't have the capability to look at the world for the user and tell them what they're seeing yet, though the feature is already available on Android and could make its way to iPhones in the future.

Perplexity's Assistant Is Now on iPhones, With a Big Catch

Can't Wait for the iPhone 17? Here's Which iPhone You Should Get Right Now Summary Perplexity's updated iOS app offers a superior voice assistant to Siri, with advanced capabilities and third-party app integration. The new Perplexity assistant can perform a wide array of tasks, including directions, reminders, reservations, emails, and phone calls. While not a full replacement for Siri, Perplexity's assistant can be accessed quickly through the app or assigned to the phone's Action button for convenience. If you don't like Siri on your iPhone, too bad -- you're stuck with it. Even as Apple wants to sprinkle it up with Apple Intelligence, it's still very lacking compared to other assistants. Perplexity's Assistant is finally on iOS, and if you're willing to do some workarounds, it's pretty good. Perplexity has rolled out a significant update to its iOS app, introducing a new Voice Assistant feature designed to bring advanced conversational AI capabilities to iPhone and iPad users. This has previously rolled out to Android, and for what it's worth, it's pretty good. It features integration with a lot of apps such as Spotify, so it can perform tasks for you, and when it can't, it's still the same conversational Perplexity chatbot we've come to know and use. I've used it as the assistant on my Google Pixel 9 Pro, and I found it to be pretty good, though I did roll back to Gemini due to the better third-party app support. The new Perplexity assistant can perform a wide array of tasks by interfacing with various apps and system functions. It can provide directions and real-time traffic updates using Apple Maps, it lets you set reminders, book rides through services like Uber, and manage calendar events (scheduling and editing). It can make reservations via compatible booking websites, draft and send emails directly, initiate messages through iMessage or other compatible apps, and place phone calls. And when it's not performing tasks for you, you can ask it general knowledge questions, and it will leverage its selection of LLMs to answer them for you -- Perplexity has a selection of models including OpenAI's GPT-4.1, Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet. It's pretty complete, and it excels in a lot of scenarios where Siri lacks a lot. Related 5 Cool Things You Can Do With the Perplexity AI Assistant on Android Perplexity AI makes these Android tasks effortless! Posts The downside here is that while this is by all means a better assistant than Siri, you can't actually fully "replace" Siri as your phone's assistant with this. Siri is the default voice assistant on iPhones and iPads, and setting a different assistant within easy reach requires workarounds. Instead, this is accessed through the Perplexity app on your iPhone, though there is a shortcut that you can either put in your lock screen or assign to your phone's Action button for quick access. So it might not be your phone's main AI assistant, but you can still access it quickly as if it were. The new assistant is now rolling out as an update to the Perplexity app, so make sure to grab it from the App Store now. Source: Perplexity (X/Twitter) via MacRumors

Perplexity targets Siri with actually useful voice actions from an iPhone AI chatbot app - 9to5Mac

Last week, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas floated the idea of making a better version of Siri for iPhone users. should we make a version of siri that works reliably on basic stuff? what all would you like to see in an iOS voice assistant ? if there's a good amount of interest, we will prioritize Less than a week later, the Perplexity AI team has kind of delivered. The problem with competing with Siri, of course, isn't that Siri is too good to beat. It's that Siri enjoys its position as the system-level voice assistant. Apple doesn't let you replace Siri with other voice assistants. There are some actions that only Siri can take. And Siri is the only voice assistant that you can invoke with your voice if your iPhone is locked. But Siri did start life on the iPhone as an app before Apple acquired it 15 years ago. The rest is misery... I mean history. For the reasons listed above, Perplexity has not replaced Siri on the iPhone. Still, what the Perplexity AI team has delivered is more than I expected. The newest version of the app can interact with Reminders, search and play Apple Music and Podcasts, and even compose and send emails and calendar events. There's also ride hailing, making reservations, and searching Apple Maps. I'm impressed! The ChatGPT app is still my go-to destination for working with AI, and Advanced Voice Mode is tied to the Action button on my iPhone. Still, Perplexity has cleverly shipped actual Siri features as part of its AI chatbot unlike OpenAI's ChatGPT. Give Perplexity for iPhone a try and see for yourself what a unified voice assistant and AI chatbot interface can offer.

I just tried Perplexity's new iOS assistant -- and now I'm ditching Siri for good

Honestly, Perplexity feels like the AI assistant I always thought Siri would become. Here's why it's earned a permanent place on my home screen -- and why I'm officially making the switch. Siri's greatest trick has always been sending me to Safari. Ask a question, and I'd often get a list of links or a vague, "Here's what I found." Perplexity, on the other hand, acts. Need a dinner reservation? It books through OpenTable. Granted, users are still required to manually complete the final booking steps, but Perplexity gets you more than halfway there. Want to send a quick email? Perplexity drafts and sends the email as long as you've given the necessary permissions for the AI to do so on your behalf. Note, if permissions are not granted, the assistant will ask for further information. Using Perplexity, I've set reminders in my Google calendar, looked up trivia and even planned a day out simply by using voice commands. Chatting with Perplexity already feels more natural, like I'm actually speaking with an assistant and not a search engine. Up until now, Perplexity has been more of an AI search chatbot than assistant. This might be my favorite part. Perplexity plays nice with the apps I already use. From Uber to Apple Music, it jumps into action instead of throwing up a wall. Siri, on the other hand? If it's not an Apple-native app, good luck. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just shrugs and opens the app without doing anything. Another bonus, I really appreciate the news feature. Because Perplexity is fundamentally a search engine, the app automatically presents trending news each day. This feature functions similarly to Apple News, providing a convenient way to stay updated without any additional effort This is a game-changer for me. Perplexity doesn't stop working when you leave the app. Now, I can hop over to email or scroll Instagram, and it doesn't lose the thread. It remains a true assistant; not one that forgets everything the second I swipe away. One of the biggest surprises? Perplexity's assistant works great on older iPhones -- including my husband's iPhone 12. There's no need to splurge on the latest hardware just to feel like I've stepped into the future. Compare that to Apple Intelligence, which is skipping models like his entirely. That exclusivity feels dated in 2025. Perplexity can't (yet) set alarms or access native iOS features like turning on Do Not Disturb. And it doesn't support screen sharing or camera-based prompts the way ChatGPT or Gemini Live does. But honestly? It handles the majority of tasks I care about and does them better than Siri ever did. That's a trade-off I'll take. I'm really excited about Perplexity continuing to evolve and potentially expand the possibilities of what it can do as an assistant. If you want to give Perplexity a try on your iPhone, here's what to do: Siri walked so Perplexity could run. And while Apple's AI roadmap is still taking shape and a new Siri is promised, it's not here yet. Perplexity is here now. And it's fast, flexible and genuinely useful. It's the kind of voice assistant I, for one, have been waiting for.

Perplexity's voice assistant is now available on iOS

Announced by the San Francisco-based, Nvidia- and Jeff Bezos-backed company on X on Wednesday, the AI search engine's iOS app now includes the ability to chat aloud with the assistant. Perplexity's Android app launched in January in 15 languages. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. The voice assistant allows you to move beyond the app itself within the conversation in order to book a table at a restaurant or a rideshare, provide directions, check your calendar, play music, or draft and send an email. You can find it within the Perplexity iOS app within the search bar at the bottom of the screen next to "Ask anything." Tapping this will prompt you to allow the app to access the microphone and you can start chatting. I asked Perplexity to find me the best coffee near me and it generated a map of "highly rated" cafes in London while listing them aloud. When I asked Perplexity where it drew the information from, it said, "A combination of sources including TripAdvisor and Google Maps, which include user ratings and reviews to highlight popular spots." Perplexity's voice assistant arrives on iOS at a time when competitors like Google's Gemini Live, OpenAI's ChatGPT Voice Mode, and AI startup Sesame are aiming for seamless chats aloud with multimodal AI assistants. The news also comes just over a month after Perplexity announced its own Deep Research tool, powered by a version of DeepSeek R1.

Perplexity's voice assistant offers a Siri alternative for iPhones

Perplexity offers a streamlined alternative to Siri that may beat the native voice assistant in most ways AI conversational search engine Perplexity is coming for Siri in the form of a new iOS voice assistant. Previously limited to Android, Perplexity's voice assistant wants users to turn to it before the native option. Further, there are a few good reasons why iPhone owners might be inclined to do so. Basically, it's more proactive and able to go a few extra steps beyond Siri's abilities. Ask it to find a dinner reservation, and it will dive into the OpenTable app to fill in your reservation requests, including guests, date, and time, without you having to say another word, just leaving the final tap on the Book button. The same goes for hunting for moments in YouTube videos. You can describe the climactic win from a niche sports documentary, see it queued up on YouTube right away. Of course, some of what Perplexity can do are things that Siri already handles, like writing emails and setting up calendar events. But, even with Apple Intelligence helping out, Perplexity is better at understanding more casual language. And that's before considering the more proactive approach. Ask Siri about signing up for an event this weekend, and you'll hear the familiar "Here's what I found on the web." Do the same with Perplexity's voice assistant, and (depending on the circumstances) the AI might say, "I already filled out the form. Just click send." Of course, it's not all-powerful. You need to open the app and tap the microphone icon to start talking to the AI. However, the responses often let you refine your request without having to start over from scratch. Additionally, the iOS version of Perplexity's assistant has a few notable limitations. It can't set alarms or control core iPhone functions, including muting notifications or taking photos. It also can't access your camera to "see what you see," which other AI assistants like ChatGPT's voice mode can. Perplexity is definitely angling to take the place of Siri by not just telling you things, but doing them too. This "agentic AI" approach is gaining popularity across various AI services, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which are both experimenting with similar ideas. The aim is to cross the bridge from traditional voice AI to fully independent digital agents. Right now, it won't book the reservation unless you make your final click. But that might change in a year or two. Apple isn't ignoring this concept, but has been slow off the mark in some ways. Although Siri's intelligence has been upgraded in recent months, we are still awaiting the full generative AI overhaul that was originally promised to launch this year within a future version of iOS 18. Apple has since delayed the AI-infused Siri and said it will arrive at some point in the future, more specifically, "in the coming year." Still, by opening its voice assistant to iOS users and layering in real-world tools like OpenTable and YouTube, Perplexity is carving out a space as a nimble alternative to native AI assistants. And if you just want to say, "Find me tacos and make the reservation," and have the bot say, "Done," Perplexity's voice assistant might be your new favorite iPhone aide.

I'm using Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant on my iPhone, and it's better than Siri

Table of Contents Table of Contents What is Perplexity Assistant? Beating Siri in Apple's backyard It can talk with apps "Hey Siri, book me a table for four people, 7 PM, at Blue Tokai coffee shop in New Friends Colony." "Do you want me to use ChatGPT to answer that?" Recommended Videos That's how my exchange with Siri went an hour ago. I tried again, and Apple's AI assistant opened a Map overview with directions to a furniture shop, a coaching center, and a dessert shop called Lunch on Table. None of the responses fulfilled my request. Not even remotely. Next, I switched to the Perplexity app and uttered the same voice command. It instantly opened a web preview where the desired reservation details were filled, and I only had to confirm the booking to get the job done. The Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant not only picked up my requirements precisely, but also did all the web browsing, information feeding, and took action on my behalf in one go. You can check out the results below, and wonder how one of the oldest AI assistants failed spectacularly against an upstart. What is Perplexity Assistant? In the world of AI assistants such as Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Microsoft's Copilot, the Perplexity Assistant is an infant at best. It was introduced in January 2025 for Android devices, making its way to iPhones in April. Now, Perplexity is not a tech giant. Yet, the AI-powered engine it has created has won it an ardent fan base and for good reason. In the recent weeks it has introduced an impressive set of features, including Deep Research, Spaces, and Pages. The best part of Perplexity is its knowledge engine, which works somewhat like the answers from a chatbot, but more detailed and with proper sources, alongside follow-up query templates. I was, however, not expecting it to meaningfully surpass Siri at real-world tasks, the kind of stuff that I would expect from a next-gen AI assistant. Beating Siri in Apple's backyard I was utterly surprised when Perplexity Assistant did a better job within Apple's own ecosystem of products than Siri itself. I asked Siri to play The Caution's "The a La menthe." It simply said that it couldn't find the track on Apple Music. Despite butchering the French pronunciation of the song, Perplexity Assistant not only understood my voice query, but also instantly started the playback from Apple Music. All this happened within a couple of seconds, and I was listening to the peppy tunes without ever leaving the Perplexity app. Siri, in fact, can be comically bad. "Find me a decent coffee shop where I can sit and get work done?" I asked. "I'll need to use ChatGPT to write that," the Apple assistant coldly responded. To the same question, Perplexity Assistant instantly opened an Apple Maps overview in the upper half of the screen, narrated some of the nice options near me, and also gave me a list of sources which it pulled the recommendations from. These recommendations, thankfully, were not AI slop. Some were pulled from Reddit threads discussing the same question, a couple were from Instagram, and one of them was from a widely used dining app. The rest of the information was collected from TripAdvisor and a few reliable websites. In a nutshell, Perplexity not only got the job done, but also pulled it off by following a path you can see and trust. It can talk with apps One of the biggest strengths of Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant is that it can get work done across other apps, which includes Apple's own and third-party software. Interestingly, it does a far better job than Siri in both scenarios. When I asked Siri to play a video where YouTube co-founder, Jawed Karim, was talking about the platform's early days at a commencement ceremony, it failed poorly. Moreover, it asked me if the query could be offloaded to ChatGPT, where I couldn't get what I was looking for, either. When I launched Perplexity Assistant and dictated the same query, it launched YouTube within an in-app preview window and started playing the video I wanted to watch. Notably, it barely ever struggled with pronunciation or wrong spellings, despite English not being my native language. Perplexity Assistant can handle cross-app workflows, even though the list is not extensive. For now, it can handle platforms such as Mail, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Apple Music, Calendar, Reminder, Maps, Uber, and OpenTable for restaurant reservations. It does a fantastic job of handling the aforementioned services. When I asked Siri to book me a ride to the Delhi airport, it started looking for transit directions to "Signpost Delhi Airport." Perplexity Assistant launched Uber, filled in the source and destination, and landed me straight on the booking page. Of course, I was ready for more frustrations. So, I asked Siri to compose an email and send it to my editor, telling him about an assignment. It copied my voice command, word for word, but instead of opening the "email" app (like I asked), it first had me pick between Mail, Teams, and Messages. I use Mail for sending emails, Siri. We all do! When I asked the same of Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant, it drafted a nicely written formal email to my editor and landed me straight to the Mail in-app instance. All I had to do was tap on the send button. Another area where Perplexity Assistant fares better than Siri is knowledge search. I asked it to look up the launch date of Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge, and it gave me an accurate response, alongside the latest sources it pulled the information from. Siri couldn't do it directly. Instead, it first asked me whether it could offload the query to ChatGPT. When I consented to it, I was taken to the ChatGPT app where I got my answer. If you don't have the chatbot app installed, you will be redirected to a browser page. It's a lot of unnecessary hassle. I also had a better experience setting up event alerts in Reminders via Perplexity Assistant than Siri. At the end of the day, Apple's virtual assistant started to feel like a relic in the face of modern AI assistants. According to some reports, Siri's rut is not going away anytime soon - although there's a chance Apple announces improvements at WWDC 2025 in June. Meanwhile, the pace at which Perplexity has evolved is truly astounding. Personally, I don't see myself going back to Siri anytime soon. Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant will stay as my daily driver for the foreseeable future. I just wish I could set it as the default voice assistant on my phone.

Perplexity Announces Voice Assistant for iPhone | AIM Media House

The company made the functionality available for Android earlier this year. Perplexity on Wednesday announced a new voice assistant for iOS. The functionality will be made available through an update for the Perplexity app on the App Store. The assistant utilises 'web browsing' and 'multi-app actions' to help users accomplish tasks, such as booking reservations, sending emails and calendar invitations, playing music and videos, etc. CEO Aravind Srinivas called the development "the first time an AI app can answer questions and take basic actions on your iPhone". He added that users can customise the Action Button on their iPhone (available on iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 16/16e/16 Pro variants) to use the assistant without having to open the application. Perplexity announced this functionality for Android users earlier this year. This allowed them to access Perplexity's assistant by configuring gestures on their Android device. Recently, Bloomberg reported that Perplexity is in talks with Motorola and Samsung to integrate its assistant on their devices. The report added that Perplexity has already reached an agreement with Motorola's parent company, Lenovo. The deal could involve enabling Perplexity as the default assistant option on devices or pre-installing the app. Perplexity's new iPhone assistant could spell trouble for Apple, which has struggled to deliver compelling AI features through its Apple Intelligence platform. Users have been critical of the capabilities of Apple Intelligence, and the company came under fire for offering inaccurate summaries from news reports. Features also noticeably lag behind the ones offered by smartphones from competitors like Samsung. A few weeks ago, Apple announced that the release of a more personalised version of Siri had been delayed until 2026. Last month, it was reported that the company was struggling to mitigate various bugs and engineering problems within Siri. Recently, Bloomberg reported that Mike Rockwell, creator of the Apple Vision Pro, will replace John Giannandrea as the AI head. As per the reports, CEO Tim Cook had "lost confidence" in Giannandrea's ability to develop products.

iPhone users can now talk to Perplexity

Perplexity has updated its iOS app to support its conversational AI voice assistant, enabling Apple users to perform tasks like writing emails, setting reminders, and making dinner reservations. The voice assistant is now available on both iOS and Android devices. The assistant allows users to ask it to set reminders, send messages, and more. For instance, users can ask Perplexity to set a reminder, and it will prompt for permission to access reminders before completing the task. It can also craft text messages, requiring access to contacts, and can be given a phone number verbally if contact access is declined. Perplexity's voice assistant can interact with other apps, such as OpenTable for restaurant reservations and Uber for ride requests. However, these actions are not end-to-end; users will still need to complete the process within the opened app. The voice assistant has some limitations on iOS, including the inability to use the camera for visual context or set scheduled alarms. The Android version of Perplexity's voice assistant launched in January, with the iOS version following after obtaining necessary permissions from Apple. Perplexity's assistant can function on older devices, unlike some AI features promised for Siri with Apple Intelligence. Some of the features demonstrated include: While Perplexity's voice assistant offers various functionalities, it lacks certain features available on other AI assistants, such as visual context through the camera. Nonetheless, users can still utilize the text-based chatbot for tasks like asking questions about images.

One of the Best AI Assistants Just Got Even Better

Siri may not be the perfect voice assistant on your iPhone, but Perplexity's new update will help bridge that gap. With Perplexity's voice assistant coming to iOS, you no longer have to wait for Apple Intelligence. Perplexity's Voice Assistant Comes to iOS Close After installing the latest update, you should be able to activate the voice assistant in the Perplexity app. At the time of writing, the assistant can perform tasks like writing emails, setting reminders, making reservations, playing media, and all the other usual queries you can ask an AI chatbot. The assistant works in the background as well, meaning you can minimize the app and continue talking to the assistant. The assistant can browse the web or work with apps installed on your phone. That said, whether it can finish the task at hand depends on the app you're using. For example, Perplexity can open Uber and book you a ride, but if you're making reservations, you'll still have to do the final action. When I asked Perplexity to play a song from Spotify, it declined, but offered to play the track from Apple Music instead. That's one of the better aspects of Perplexity Assistant. Even if it doesn't have permission to carry out a task, it offers to do the next best thing. The Verge reports that if you're trying to send an SMS to a contact via the assistant and refuse to let the app access your contacts, it asks you to tell it the intended number. Your mileage may vary, though. When I asked Perplexity to send a text, it refused and offered to send an email instead. When asked why, it claimed that it's unable to send text messages "because of privacy and security guidelines." You'll see a new Voice & Language setting that lets you control the feature's behavior. You can toggle subtitles for the responses Perplexity gives, choose between hands-free or push-to-talk modes, and pick one of the six voices for Perplexity to speak in. While you do get more voices on iOS compared to Android, the feature set isn't quite there yet. For example, iOS doesn't support screen sharing, and it can't "see" through your phone camera to tell you what you're looking at. It can't change or set scheduled alarms on iPhones either. What Does It Mean for Apple Intelligence? Perplexity doesn't have the level of system integration Apple Intelligence does, and there will always be some restriction that prevents the app from reaching its full potential, especially when compared to the Android version. If you use Perplexity Assistant instead of Google's, you might never go back. One of the biggest reasons why you would want to use Perplexity or other chatbots like ChatGPT or Grok on your iPhone is the fact that Apple Intelligence isn't coming to older iPhones. For Apple Intelligence, you need an iPhone 15 Pro or higher. Perplexity, however, will work on just about every iPhone without a hitch. Related I Have a Major Problem With Apple Intelligence, and It's Not What You Think Does the I in AI stand for intelligence or incompetence? Posts Siri isn't going anywhere, but Apple Intelligence has many problems. Unless Apple gets its AI house in order, AI apps like Perplexity will give you a far better experience.

Perplexity's Voice Assistant With Multi-App Actions Is Coming to iOS

The Perplexity voice assistant for Android was launched in January Perplexity has begun to roll out a new voice assistant for iOS. Powered by the company's native artificial intelligence (AI) answer engine, the new voice assistant comes with web browsing capability and can access multiple apps to complete tasks. The AI assistant for iPhone devices comes three months after the company rolled out the Perplexity Assistant for Android devices. As per the AI firm, the voice assistant can perform complex tasks such as booking a table at a restaurant, sending emails and calendar invites, and more. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Perplexity announced the release of its voice assistant for iOS. Users who have previously installed the Perplexity app on an iPhone can access the AI assistant by updating the app. The feature is currently available for free, and doesn't require users to download another application. Once the Perplexity Assistant rolls out to your phone, you can open the app and tap the waveform icon on the bottom right side of the interface, next to the text field. This opens the AI assistant in a full-screen view, where the assistant is represented as a globe of sparkling particles. You can ask a question, and the chatbot will complete respond, or perform an appropriate action. It can perform all of Siri's query-based actions, as well as most of the on-device actions such as turning the flashlight on and off, setting a reminder or alarm, and calling a contact. Additionally, it can also access some apps on the device to complete certain complicated tasks. For instance, if you ask it to "book a table for two at the Taj Hotel tomorrow at 2:30pm," Perplexity Assistant will be able to access either the hotel's reservation page or a compatible third-party website. It would then enter your details and share the page with you, for any final adjustments, before booking the table. Perplexity says the voice assistant can also send emails and calendar invites, as well as find products to buy online. A point to note here is that the AI assistant does not have agentic capabilities and cannot execute actions autonomously. While it can fill out a form or draft an email, you will have to tap the confirmation button at the end. The AI-powered search platform has recently been taking measures to increase its adoption. Earlier, it added a bot on X that can respond to user queries when tagged in the reply to a post. According to a report, Perplexity has also struck a deal with Motorola to bring the AI assistant to its upcoming devices.

Perplexity AI voice assistant comes to iPhones -- Here's what you can do with it

Perplexity AI has launched its voice-activated Perplexity Assistant for iOS, enabling users to perform tasks like playing media, drafting emails, and scheduling meetings on iPhones. The assistant utilises native Apple apps such as Apple Music and Apple Mail for various tasks. While it can't control certain iOS functions due to Apple SDK limitations, it offers a convenient way to manage various tasks hands-free.Perplexity AI recently launched its artificial intelligence assistant, Perplexity Assistant, for iOS devices. The feature is voice-activated, like Apple's Siri or Google Gemini. Unlike the conventional AI assistant apps, however, it can complete various tasks within the app, such as playing media, drafting emails, moving meetings, booking rides, making reservations, and setting reminders. How to use Perplexity iOS Assistant To begin using Perplexity Assistant, users need to update the Perplexity app on their iPhones to the latest version. To start a conversation Thread, enable microphone access for the app and tap on the voice icon in the input box. All Threads will be saved in the Threads Library. Users can place shortcuts for Perplexity Assistant on their home screen and lock screen using the usual settings on iOS. What Perplexity Assistant can do on iPhones Perplexity Assistant uses native Apple apps as the default to carry out various tasks. Apple Music is the default app for songs or podcasts, and Apple Mail is the default app for email. Perplexity said it is working to bring support for Gmail and Google Calendar. Users can ask the voice assistant to play a music track or podcast and Perplexity Assistant will do so via Apple Music. To find an address, they need to ask for it on the app, and it will show it on Apple Maps. Configuring Apple Mail and Apple Calendar can help users review their day plan, schedule meetings and send emails using their voice. The Perplexity Assistant, however, can't turn on the flashlight, lower brightness, turn on low-battery mode, turn the volume up or down, or set native iOS alarms, as these apps are not exposed by the Apple SDK for developers to explore, Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas explained in an X thread. Also Read: Apple aims to source all US iPhones from India in shift away from China: FT reports

Move Aside Siri, Perplexity's AI Voice Assistant Is Here on iPhones

It does have its limitations, as it doesn't work with all system apps and has occasional connectivity issues. What was supposed to be an evolution of Siri, was turned out to be a colorful makeover and the ability to delegate tough questions to ChatGPT like a shiftless coworker. So while a smart Siri remains a distant dream, Perplexity's new AI voice assistant is here to curb the bitter flavor Apple left in our mouths. Perplexity's official X account recently announced that their AI voice assistant is now available on iPhones and iPads. It's been available on Android since January, but it had to wait for Apple to grant necessary permissions before making its iOS debut. So it seems they have received a green flag from the Cupertino giant, and with Perplexity on board, I can already see Siri getting red with jealously. Now I have tried my fair share of voice assistants before, like Gemini Live, GPT Voice, and even Copilot. But this is my first time giving Perplexity a shot. So once I heard the news, I installed it on the iPhone 16e, signed up for it, and tried out their assistant. I started by asking simple things, like drafting an email, and other common questions, which it had no issues helping with. But let's move on to the more assistant-type of stuff. Like, I asked it to play that very popular song with Taylor Swift and ZAYN. It immediately knew what I was asking for and asked permission to open Apple Music. "Wait! So it can bring up native apps to do stuff?" was my reaction when it happened. I was intrigued and went ahead and asked Perplexity to set a reminder. Without a hitch, it added a reminder to the Reminders app. Even when asked to send an email, it asked for Contacts permission so it can send it directly, like Siri would. That's not the extent of its prowess. Think about this, I bet most of you use Siri to ask about local restaurants. Well, Perplexity can do it too, and also book a reservation for you using OpenTable. Of course, you'd have to be the one to complete the final steps of the process, but it will fill in the details for you. Heck, it can also help you get a ride to the restaurant with Uber. You can even use the voice assistant from anywhere on your iPhone. Yes, the AI continues to listen for you even when you exit the app. I also added the Perplexity widget to my home screen, making the AI assistant more accessible without needing to open the app. After experiencing Perplexity, it's hard to go back to Siri. But Perplexity also has its pain points. To start with, it doesn't work with all system apps. So asking to set an alarm will result in Perplexity talking you through the process of opening the Clock app and doing it yourself. This is quite a downgrade from its Android counterpart, which we tested back in January. Unlike on iOS, it could place calls, messages, and even read what's on your screen. It also takes a few seconds to connect to the internet. There were a bunch of instances where it failed to connect to the network. So I had to try again for it to work. Also, for some reason, it can't find contacts in your iPhone even after providing the Contacts permission. Because of these reasons, I can't use Perplexity as my full-time Siri alternative, even though I desperately want to. But on the plus side, I don't have to have the latest iPhone to use Perplexity. It works just as good on my iPhone 13 as well. So while Apple sorts out their troubles, I am going to keep Perplexity and use it side-by-side to Siri as my other AI voice assistant.

Is Perplexity the Siri Apple Should Have Created?

The Perplexity AI app is redefining the role of voice assistants, offering capabilities that surpass Apple's Siri in several key areas. While it currently lacks support for smart home controls, Perplexity excels in managing tasks such as organizing calendars, composing emails, playing music, and answering complex questions. Its seamless integration with iPhone features highlights the fantastic potential of large language models, setting a new benchmark for voice assistant functionality. The video below from Stephen Robles givs us a look at Perplexity on the iPhone. Perplexity is designed to enhance productivity and simplify daily tasks through a range of advanced features. Here's what it offers: Although some tasks, like completing ride bookings or reservations, require manual input in other apps, Perplexity significantly reduces the effort involved in setting them up, saving valuable time. When compared directly with Siri, Perplexity demonstrates a clear advantage in natural language understanding and contextual awareness. Siri often struggles with ambiguous or complex requests, while Perplexity handles them with remarkable ease. For instance: These capabilities make Perplexity a more intuitive and reliable assistant for managing intricate tasks, positioning it as a superior alternative for users seeking advanced functionality. Despite its impressive features, Perplexity has some limitations that users should be aware of: These gaps highlight areas where Perplexity could expand its capabilities, leaving room for future updates to address these shortcomings and further enhance its utility. Perplexity integrates seamlessly with iPhone features, offering a high degree of customization to suit individual preferences. Users can map it to the iPhone's action button for quick and convenient access, making it a practical alternative to Siri. Additionally, advanced shortcuts allow users to automate tasks such as: These integrations demonstrate how Perplexity adapts to your specific needs, streamlining workflows and enhancing everyday convenience. One of Perplexity's standout features is its ability to handle complex questions and interpret vague or incomplete requests. By using its advanced large language model, it delivers accurate and relevant responses, making it an invaluable tool for general knowledge inquiries. Whether you're seeking detailed explanations, quick facts, or nuanced insights, Perplexity consistently provides reliable and thoughtful information. Perplexity represents a significant step forward in the evolution of voice assistants, showcasing the potential of AI-driven technology to reshape user expectations. Its advanced natural language understanding and contextual awareness highlight areas where traditional assistants like Siri could improve. As Apple and other tech companies continue to explore advancements in AI, Perplexity sets a high standard for what modern voice assistants can achieve. The capabilities of Perplexity signal a new era for voice assistants, offering users a glimpse into the future of AI-powered convenience and functionality. With its innovative features and seamless integration, Perplexity is leading the way in redefining how we interact with technology. Here are more guides from our previous articles and guides related to Large Language Models that you may find helpful.