How to use Perplexity Assistant on Android

When Perplexity AI first became available in 2022, it brought something new by combining artificial intelligence with web search. This allowed users to use the power of AI to conduct web searches, making it easier to find what you they were looking for while reducing the effort required in the process.

Now, Perplexity, the company behind the AI tool, is taking things one step further by allowing you to use Perplexity AI as the default digital assistant on your smartphone. You can now use it to perform various actions like sending emails and texts, setting reminders, booking rides, and more. Furthermore, the digital assistant can understand and follow multi-step commands, which promises to make it far more useful than existing options.

The AI assistant is already available for all Android users, and you can use it for free now. To start using Perplexity Assistant on your Android device, download it from the Play Store. Once downloaded, you can sign in using your Google account, email, or SSO.

Setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant

To be able to use Perplexity Assistant as the default assistant on your smartphone, you will first have to set it as the default option replacing Google Assistant or Gemini.

1. Open Perplexity Assistant and tap on the profile icon at the top left to open the Settings page.
2. On the Settings page, scroll down to the 'About' section and tap on 'Enable assistant'.

3. Tap on 'Default digital assistant app' to select the default assistant on your device.
4. Then tap on Perplexity AI in the list of options.

Conducting online searches

You can use the Perplexity app to conduct online searches just like the Google app or any other search engine. However, you can also do so using the AI Assistant without opening the app.

1. Perform the gesture you use to activate your assistant, such as swiping diagonally up from the bottom or tapping and holding the home button. This will show you the Perplexity Assistant interface at the bottom of the screen. You can then speak or type your query and tap the 'Send' button.
2. The AI assistant will show you the answer to your query and you can scroll up and down to go through it. It will also show you the sources from which it gathers information at the top, making it easy to check them out yourself.

Using Perplexity to perform actions

Besides being able to look up things online, you can ask the AI to perform various actions, such as setting reminders, making calls, and more.

1. Activate Perplexity AI assistant from your home screen and give it a command like Make a call to (name). If you've set Perplexity as the default assistant and provided it with the required permissions, such as accessing your contacts, it should be able to make the call you requested.
2. Similarly, you can ask it to set a reminder for a specific time and it should show you a message that a reminder has been set.

3. When you ask the AI assistant to perform actions like writing an email or a message, it will show you a text box. Tapping on it will open up the required app, such as Gmail or Messages.
4. Additionally, being a multimodal AI Assistant, Perplexity AI Assistant can identify what is on your screen and provide you with information about it, just like Google's Circle to Search. Just head to the page about which you want information and ask the assistant What am I looking at.

5. The assistant will use screen context to gather information about whatever is displayed on your smartphone screen and provide it to you. You can also ask follow-up questions about the topic.
6. Perplexity AI Assistant also has the Google Lens functionality baked into it. Activate the assistant and tap the Lens icon at the bottom left to use it.

7. This will open up the camera on your device. Now, you can simply point it at the object in question and ask the AI about it.
8. After analyzing the image from your phone's camera, Perplexity AI will provide you with information about it.

9. Perplexity AI Assistant can also help you get a summary of your notifications, which can be handy if you get a lot of them. Just ask it can you provide me with a notification summary?.
10. Make sure you have granted the Perplexity app access to your notifications. This will help it check your notifications and provide you with the required summary.

Chaining commands

Since Perplexity AI can retain information you have provided it earlier, it can rely on such information to perform actions that you ask it to later. This lets you chain different commands together when using the AI assistant.

1. Activate Perplexity AI Assistant and type in your first command, such as create a list of the best upcoming shonen anime in 2025.
2. Wait for a few seconds until the AI assistant shows you the results. Then, go down and type in your next command.

3. Type the next command, like share this list with (name) via a text message.
4. You will see that the AI assistant will compose a message with the list to the recipient in the required app. You can review and edit the message as you like before sending it. In the same way, you can chain other commands and ask the AI to perform multiple actions in one go.

Things to know

• You can interact with Perplexity AI Assistant on your smartphone in 15 different languages, including English, Japanese, German, French, etc.
• In addition to the actions shown above, you can ask the Perplexity AI assistant to play music in apps like the music player and Spotify, play YouTube videos, set alarms, book rides with Uber, etc.
• Many of the actions that you can ask Perplexity AI to perform can also be performed with Gemini, but Perplexity offers better performance in many cases. For instance, you can ask it to remind you to watch the next season of a TV show without stating the exact time, and it will do so.
• According to the developers, some features, like restaurant bookings, may not work properly but they are working to improve them.