“Hey Siri, ebook me a desk for 4 individuals, 7 PM, at Blue Tokai espresso store in New Mates Colony.”
“Would you like me to make use of ChatGPT to reply that?”
That’s how my change with Siri went an hour in the past. I attempted once more, and Apple’s AI assistant opened a Map overview with instructions to a furnishings store, a training heart, and a dessert store known as Lunch on Desk.
Not one of the responses fulfilled my request. Not even remotely.
Subsequent, I switched to the Perplexity app and uttered the identical voice command. It immediately opened an online preview the place the specified reservation particulars had been crammed, and I solely needed to affirm the reserving to get the job accomplished.
The Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant not solely picked up my necessities exactly, but in addition did all the online shopping, data feeding, and took motion on my behalf in a single go. You may take a look at the outcomes beneath, and marvel how one of many oldest AI assistants failed spectacularly towards an upstart.
What’s Perplexity Assistant?
On the earth of AI assistants comparable to Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s Copilot, the Perplexity Assistant is an toddler at greatest. It was launched in January 2025 for Android gadgets, making its method to iPhones in April.
Now, Perplexity isn’t a tech large. But, the AI-powered engine it has created has received it an ardent fan base and for good purpose. Within the current weeks it has launched an spectacular set of options, together with Deep Analysis, Areas, and Pages.
One of the best a part of Perplexity is its information engine, which works considerably just like the solutions from a chatbot, however extra detailed and with correct sources, alongside follow-up question templates. I used to be, nonetheless, not anticipating it to meaningfully surpass Siri at real-world duties, the form of stuff that I’d count on from a next-gen AI assistant.
Beating Siri in Apple’s yard
I used to be completely shocked when Perplexity Assistant did a greater job inside Apple’s personal ecosystem of merchandise than Siri itself. I requested Siri to play The Warning’s “The a La menthe.” It merely stated that it couldn’t discover the observe on Apple Music.
Regardless of butchering the French pronunciation of the tune, Perplexity Assistant not solely understood my voice question, but in addition immediately began the playback from Apple Music. All this occurred inside a few seconds, and I used to be listening to the peppy tunes with out ever leaving the Perplexity app.
Siri, actually, will be comically dangerous. “Discover me an honest espresso store the place I can sit and get work accomplished?” I requested. “I’ll want to make use of ChatGPT to put in writing that,” the Apple assistant coldly responded.
To the identical query, Perplexity Assistant immediately opened an Apple Maps overview within the higher half of the display screen, narrated a number of the good choices close to me, and in addition gave me a listing of sources which it pulled the suggestions from.
These suggestions, fortunately, weren’t AI slop. Some had been pulled from Reddit threads discussing the identical query, a pair had been from Instagram, and certainly one of them was from a broadly used eating app.
The remainder of the knowledge was collected from TripAdvisor and some dependable web sites. In a nutshell, Perplexity not solely bought the job accomplished, but in addition pulled it off by following a path you may see and belief.
It might probably speak with apps
One of many largest strengths of Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant is that it might get work accomplished throughout different apps, which incorporates Apple’s personal and third-party software program. Apparently, it does a much better job than Siri in each eventualities.
After I requested Siri to play a video the place YouTube co-founder, Jawed Karim, was speaking in regards to the platform’s early days at a graduation ceremony, it failed poorly. Furthermore, it requested me if the question might be offloaded to ChatGPT, the place I couldn’t get what I used to be searching for, both.
After I launched Perplexity Assistant and dictated the identical question, it launched YouTube inside an in-app preview window and began taking part in the video I needed to look at. Notably, it barely ever struggled with pronunciation or fallacious spellings, regardless of English not being my native language.
Perplexity Assistant can deal with cross-app workflows, though the record isn’t intensive. For now, it might deal with platforms comparable to Mail, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Apple Music, Calendar, Reminder, Maps, Uber, and OpenTable for restaurant reservations.
It does a improbable job of dealing with the aforementioned companies. After I requested Siri to ebook me a trip to the Delhi airport, it began searching for transit instructions to “Signpost Delhi Airport.” Perplexity Assistant launched Uber, crammed within the supply and vacation spot, and landed me straight on the reserving web page.
After all, I used to be prepared for extra frustrations. So, I requested Siri to compose an electronic mail and ship it to my editor, telling him about an task. It copied my voice command, phrase for phrase, however as an alternative of opening the “electronic mail” app (like I requested), it first had me decide between Mail, Groups, and Messages.
I exploit Mail for sending emails, Siri. All of us do!
After I requested the identical of Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant, it drafted a properly written formal electronic mail to my editor and landed me straight to the Mail in-app occasion. All I needed to do was faucet on the ship button.
One other space the place Perplexity Assistant fares higher than Siri is information search. I requested it to search for the launch date of Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, and it gave me an correct response, alongside the most recent sources it pulled the knowledge from.
Siri couldn’t do it immediately. As an alternative, it first requested me whether or not it might offload the question to ChatGPT. After I consented to it, I used to be taken to the ChatGPT app the place I bought my reply. In case you don’t have the chatbot app put in, you may be redirected to a browser web page.
It’s plenty of pointless problem. I additionally had a greater expertise organising occasion alerts in Reminders by way of Perplexity Assistant than Siri. On the finish of the day, Apple’s digital assistant began to really feel like a relic within the face of contemporary AI assistants.
In keeping with some studies, Siri’s rut isn’t going away anytime quickly – though there’s an opportunity Apple broadcasts enhancements at WWDC 2025 in June. In the meantime, the tempo at which Perplexity has advanced is actually astounding.
Personally, I don’t see myself going again to Siri anytime quickly. Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant will keep as my day by day driver for the foreseeable future. I simply want I might set it because the default voice assistant on my cellphone.