Testing Perplexity Assistant: A Wake-Up Call for Google

Perplexity has introduced its inaugural AI assistant for Android devices, known as the Perplexity Assistant. Competing head-to-head with Google Assistant, this new tool offers support for various functions, reminders, and some intriguing features. I decided to swap out Gemini (and Google Assistant) on my Galaxy S23 for Perplexity Assistant to discover what fresh experiences it offers. I must admit, I was quite impressed, and it made me recognize the shortcomings of Gemini. Here’s why I feel this way.

Perplexity Assistant: Making Calls, Sending Messages, and Emails

Having relied on Gemini (previously Google Assistant) for many years, my routine tasks typically involve making calls or sending texts. I kicked off my testing of Perplexity Assistant by requesting it to make a call after granting the necessary permissions. To my surprise, it outperformed Google Assistant.

Perplexity Assistant doesn’t waste time narrating its response before dialing. Instead, it directly initiates the call, making it nearly instantaneous and saving invaluable time. I appreciate this seamless, latency-free experience, and I love how it automatically selects the correct contact.

I then asked Perplexity Assistant to identify the movies nominated for the Oscars in 2025 and send the list to a contact. It smoothly integrated with my default messaging app and prepared to transmit the information generated by Perplexity via SMS.

This shows that Perplexity Assistant can keep the conversation going, retain context, and execute multiple tasks simultaneously. Although Gemini on Android can also perform multiple actions through the Utilities extension, I found it to be less reliable in practice.

I should note that while Perplexity Assistant does not currently support WhatsApp, it functions perfectly for emailing as well.

In conclusion, when it comes to basic calling and messaging, I found Perplexity Assistant superior to Google/Gemini Assistant. It doesn’t yet support nicknames for contacts, but I anticipate that Perplexity will enhance this feature in future updates.

Setting Smart Reminders with Perplexity Assistant

While Google Assistant allows you to set reminders, Perplexity Assistant takes it up a notch with intelligent reminders. You can provide descriptive prompts like, “remind me to watch the next season of Squid Games when it’s released,” and Perplexity Assistant will take care of the rest.

Thanks to advanced AI integration and web searches, Perplexity can discover dates and set reminders for you, sparing you the hassle of doing it manually. This feature exemplifies the strength of an AI-driven voice assistant. Just keep in mind that reminders are managed within the Perplexity app and don’t sync with your calendar.

Screen Analysis with Perplexity Assistant

While Google offers an impressive Circle to Search tool on Android, Perplexity Assistant excels at screen analysis too. You can activate it and say, “What am I looking at?” and it will analyze the active screen, providing an instant response. This is particularly useful when reading an article or PDF and seeking further understanding of the content.

You can also command it to “fact-check this article” or “explain this diagram.” The possibilities for this function are numerous. While Gemini on Android has a similar capability, it requires taking a screenshot before processing visual information, which can be cumbersome. I would consider screen analysis to be one of the standout features of Perplexity Assistant.

Engaging Perplexity Assistant Through Your Camera

Perplexity Assistant comes equipped with camera functionality, enhancing its utility. You can easily activate Perplexity Assistant and click the camera icon to show it what you’re observing. For example, point it at a book and ask for similar recommendations, or scan famous landmarks during your travels to gather more information.

In essence, you can process any visual information in real time. This is somewhat akin to ChatGPT’s Live Video mode, which allows for real-time interaction with the AI assistant based on what you show it. However, it’s important to note that Perplexity Assistant does not facilitate back-and-forth conversations.

Summarizing Notifications with Perplexity

Following the launch of AI-powered Notification Summary with iOS 18, Perplexity Assistant has now brought a notification summarization feature to Android, ahead of Google. You can simply say, “update me on my notifications,” and Perplexity will summarize all the vital notifications for you. It’s a slick feature that performed flawlessly on my Android device. Do remember to grant notification access to Perplexity to use this feature.

Booking Uber and Restaurants with Perplexity Assistant

Perplexity Assistant can also assist in booking Uber rides. Just say, “get me an Uber to [location],” and it will manage the booking for you—granted you’ve enabled location permissions. You can likewise use it to find directions and navigate without delay by launching Google Maps and opening the navigation screen immediately.

You can also make restaurant reservations through Perplexity Assistant. It can help you locate nearby eateries, provide recommendations, and even book a table for you.

Searching and Playing Songs and Videos

Like Google Assistant, Perplexity Assistant enables you to search for and play songs and videos. Nevertheless, Perplexity offers a unique twist by allowing descriptive prompts. For instance, you might say, “play the final song from Interstellar,” and it will understand your request, playing the exact track you’re looking for.

During my testing, I asked it to play the suspenseful music from The Social Network, and it correctly identified “Hand Covers Bruise.” Impressive!

You don’t have to mention the song or album title—just describe it, and Perplexity will do its best to find it for you. It connects with Spotify to play songs and uses YouTube for video content.

Overall, I found the Perplexity Assistant to be quite impressive, especially for its first release. It manages to get a lot of things right from the outset. I appreciate that it focuses on actions while minimizing unnecessary speech.

That said, it currently lacks support for several popular applications like Google Keep, Calendar, and WhatsApp. However, I foresee that with subsequent updates, Perplexity Assistant has the potential to become a strong contender to replace Google Assistant on Android devices.