Perplexity AI partners with Motorola to bring AI search to smartphones

Perplexity AI has announced a partnership with Motorola to integrate its AI search engine technology into the smartphone maker’s handsets.

In what’s being billed as the first time an AI search engine has been integrated into a smartphone brand’s features, within the “Moto AI” suite, Perplexity’s tech will be available within select queries.

Speaking at an event in New York today, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said the company is also working with Microsoft Copilot, Google’s Gemini, and Meta on select queries.

The distribution partnership is not a traditional business arrangement, in that it’s not focused on revenue. Rather, it’s about getting more users on to the platform. “We’re not making money from Motorola sales,” Srinivas said, according to a report from Reuters.

Motorola users will get three months free access to Perplexity Pro, which includes the Deep Research feature. This will enable the company to see how casual users are using AI and interacting with the platform.

The partnership comes at a time when investors are reassessing the viability of devices focused on AI. However, the view that smartphones partnering with AI brands is a pragmatic way to get the tech into consumer hands is gaining traction.

“Now we’re at the start of another major shift in technology,” Nicole Hagen, Motorola’s head of product marketing, said of the potential for smartphones.

Srinivas said embedding AI into smartphones could encourage people to use it more often. “Nobody uses AI on weekends,” he said.

Perplexity is positioning itself as a challenger to Google and OpenAI and has seen its valuation soar from $500 million at the start of 2024 to around $9 billion by the end of the year. The company is now reportedly looking to raise between $500 million and $1 billion at an $18 billion post-money valuation.