Perplexity launches a new AI-powered virtual assistant to rival Google Assistant and Alexa

Perplexity has introduced a new AI-powered virtual assistant, Perplexity Assistant, for Android devices. This new feature is integrated into the main Perplexity app, allowing users to access its functionalities without needing to open the app itself. To use the assistant, users must download the free Perplexity AI app and set it as their default assistant, which can then be activated by holding the power button.

Designed to rival other popular virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, Bixby, or Google Assistant (including the forthcoming Gemini AI assistant, Perplexity Assistant offers a range of capabilities beyond answering questions. It can assist with tasks like booking dinner reservations, finding forgotten songs, calling rides, drafting emails, and setting reminders. Additionally, it can search for restaurants and use the camera to describe objects in view.

Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity's founder, highlighted on X that the assistant understands context and can act accordingly. However, it currently lacks direct access to Google Calendar and Gmail, but this feature is anticipated within three weeks. Despite this, the assistant can still summarize unread emails and upcoming calendar events via notifications.