By Sumit Adhikari
Publication Date: 2025-12-29 05:56:00
Samsung’s in-house AI assistant Bixby may have faded into the background in recent years, but the company hasn’t abandoned it entirely. A new leak suggests Samsung is quietly giving Bixby a major boost in One UI 8.5, this time by tapping an external AI partner. And no, it’s not Google’s Gemini. It’s Perplexity.
Perplexity comes to rescue Bixby in Samsung Galaxy phones
Google Gemini has replaced Bixby as the default AI assistant on Galaxy phones. However, Samsung still plans to keep Bixby around, and it’s not just about giving users more choices. While it has integrated Gemini with many first-party apps for task execution, Bixby holds a key advantage. It’s an in-house solution with deeper access to system-level features and One UI controls.
Samsung is now supercharging the in-house assistant by integrating Perplexity. This integration first appeared on Samsung TVs, where Bixby began routing queries through Perplexity to deliver more detailed, context-aware answers. That same capability recently made its way to Samsung phones.
Users have spotted Bixby tapping into Perplexity for tasks like weather queries, offering not just a forecast, but additional insights and practical recommendations, such as whether carrying an umbrella makes sense. A screenshot shared by X user @achultra shows the new Bixby opens as a card-style interface aligned with One UI 8.5’s refreshed design language.
By pairing Bixby with Perplexity’s mature AI…
