Samsung Is Turning to This AI Assistant to Give Bixby a Second Life in One UI 8.5

Samsung appears to be ready to give Bixby a good upgrade in its upcoming One UI 8.5 update. The brand has struggled to compete with Google Assistant and Siri, and to compete with the current generation of assistants, Samsung has decided to integrate Perplexity to handle complex queries.

Bixby could use Perplexity in One UI 8.5

According to the screenshots shared by Galaxy Techie on X, Samsung's new Bixby will function as a hybrid assistant, while also retaining its traditional role for on-device controls. Samsung using Perplexity in Bixby was first rumoured back in November 2025.

Research-heavy questions, on the other hand, will be handled by Perplexity, transforming Bixby from a basic home assistant into a research tool on One UI 8.5.

This is similar to Apple's strategy of offloading intense tasks to ChatGPT, and it will soon leverage Gemini for AI tasks. Besides, the update is also expected to bring a visual redesign, with leaks pointing to a new Bixby Live interface that closely resembles Gemini Live.

It's a floating text box with a distinct blue-purple gradient glow. This move suggests Samsung aims to bring a more conversational, real-time interaction experience. Besides this, rumours point toward a code in Perplexity's latest update that hints at a new Hey Plex hotword, which could allow users to bypass Bixby entirely for direct AI access.

Samsung Galaxy Bixby powered by Perplexity in action

Beyond search, One UI 8.5 could also bring deeper integration with Uber, HERE Maps and The Weather Channel. In China, the assistant will reportedly use DeepSeek models, allowing multimodal tasks like analysing camera feeds or screen content in real-time.

This is great news for Samsung fans who have longed for a good Bixby experience but have currently disabled it. One UI 8.5 could arrive first in the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, which is expected to launch in Galaxy Unpacked, reportedly scheduled for February 25, 2026. More information about all the new updates to Bixby should surface as we inch closer to the event, so stay tuned.