Last month, Samsung accidentally revealed plans to integrate Bixby with Perplexity AI, in a bid to compete with the likes of Google Gemini and Siri. Now, it is finally live as the latest OneUI 8.5 update has supercharged Bixby with conversational AI capabilities.
Bixby's AI features are powered by Perplexity AI
First spotted by SamMobile, the new Bixby AI refresh is now available in all OneUI 8.5 beta 5 eligible Galaxy smartphones. The digital assistant makes use of Perplexity AI to provide web search results and perform on-device AI tasks. It now shows off a Perplexity icon just above the sources for searches.
Moreover, this integration also unlocks exclusive Perpexity features like deep research and local search for Galaxy phones. This is a huge step up in Bixby's capabilities since it can now provide detailed and more accurate information as well as understand the context of a conversation to provide follow-up answers.
Also, similar to ChatGPT and Google Gemini, the redesigned Bixby interface allows users to review previous conversations and refer back to past search results. These are accessible via a left-side panel, which opens when clicking on the three-bar icon at the top-left corner.
Additionally, a large part of the new Bixby update can also be found in its more context-aware capabilities. The publication reports that Bixby can control and navigate Galaxy phones even when users do not exactly know what they want or remember the exact toggle or feature name.
Users can simply describe what they want and Bixby will use natural language commands to match the intent with the feature or tool inside the smartphone. For example, if a user says, “I don’t want the screen to time out while I’m still looking at it,” Bixby will automatically enable the ‘Keep Screen On While Viewing' option inside their Galaxy smartphone.
That said, the new version of Bixby is currently available to One UI 8.5 Beta 5 in the Galaxy S25 series. It is rolling out in countries Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK and the US. So, in case you have enrolled on the Galaxy 8.5 beta program, the new Bixby and Perlexity AI update should be live if you reside in any of the mentioned regions.
