Perplexity launches voice assistant on Apple devices, taking on Siri and rivals
Perplexity has launched its voice assistant on Apple devices.
The San Francisco-based company announced on X on Wednesday that the feature is now available in the Perplexity iOS app.
The voice assistant, which enables users to interact with the assistant vocally, has been available in the Android app since January. That version speaks 15 languages.
Users will be able to engage the voice assistant to do things like book a table at a restaurant, arrange a rideshare, get directions, check your calendar, play some music, or draft an email.
To access the feature, users will need to tap the microphone icon in the search bar. For example, I just asked to find me the best coffee in London and the assistant generated a map of highly rated cafes. It cited sources like TripAdvisor and Google Maps for its information.
The launch of the voice assistant comes as rivals like Google with its Gemini Live product and OpenAI with its ChatGPT Voice Mode are also upping their voice game.
Just over a month ago, Perplexity announced its Deep Research tool powered by the DeepSeek R1. The company’s CEO Aravind Srinivas said at the time that the assistant could answer your questions and start tasks for you.
It’s timely too, because Apple’s own AI Apple Intelligence has been delayed since it was announced in 2024. The company has even had to pull commercials due to the unavailability of promised features. While ChatGPT’s integration with Siri is live, many Apple users are still waiting for a more advanced version of Siri. For those users, Perplexity’s app might be a viable alternative.
Perplexity’s app will also be preloaded on new Motorola Razr phones, so it’s getting plenty of exposure.
If you don’t see the option to use the voice assistant, make sure you’ve updated your app via the Apple App Store. Perplexity has both free and paid plans and may use information you provide to train its models unless you opt out. Check out the app’s privacy policy for more information.
