Bixby’s Revenge: Samsung Pairs with Perplexity AI to Outsmart Google Gemini

Samsung is reportedly upgrading Bixby by integrating Perplexity AI, moving beyond its previous reliance on Google Gemini as part of the One UI 8.5 beta. When users pose more complex questions, Bixby is described as quietly invoking Perplexity’s API to fetch answers, enabling more natural-language guidance such as weather context rather than just a temperature readout.

The shift positions Bixby to handle hardware control and system operations while Perplexity tackles search and reasoning, a move observers see as Samsung drawing inspiration from competing AI strategies. The first device expected to feature this deeper integration is tipped to be the Galaxy S26 series, slated for early next year, with Perplexity expanding into Samsung and LG smart home appliances and a formal debut planned at CES 2026.

Despite the collaboration, Samsung is not abandoning Google Gemini entirely, with Gemini-powered smart fridges still anticipated for CES next year. The article frames a future where AI tasks are split across models in a modular, router-like architecture to tailor the right AI for each task.