Having Perplexity’s AI and models on devices from the world’s biggest phone-maker puts the company under a brighter light.

There were plenty of references to AI at today’s Galaxy Unpacked event. But Samsung isn’t alone; nearly every major smartphone launch in recent years has included new AI features or partnerships with AI companies.

Samsung launched its latest iteration of Galaxy AI, debuting it alongside Galaxy S26 phones. This follows weekend news that the company plans to integrate Perplexity’s AI agent — and even support a “Hey Plex” wake word — on its new phones. But the partnership appears to go beyond simply giving Samsung users another AI option.

Since late 2023, phone-makers have been leapfrogging one another to add generative AI features and integrate AI agents. Nearly every new Android phone supports Google’s Gemini assistant. Apple’s iPhones integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into the phone’s Visual Intelligence feature and its Siri overhaul will incorporate Google’s Gemini AI models.

While Perplexity has partnered with phone-makers such as Motorola to preload its app — and has been integrated into devices for Deutsche Telekom — having its AI and models built directly into phones from the world’s largest manufacturer puts the company on a much bigger stage. It marks a shift toward AI agents being just another tool people choose to use, much like a phone app.

“The first step toward an agentic mobile ecosystem is the user getting to choose whatever agent they want,” Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, told CNET. “I think this is where Samsung is taking a big, big leap forward.”

Perplexity’s Sonar API powers aspects of Samsung’s Galaxy AI ecosystem. Shevelenko said that the company’s engineers worked closely with Samsung’s team to revamp its Bixby assistant at the framework level, getting deep system access. He noted that it’s the first time a third-party AI company has achieved parity on a major mobile OS. The Galaxy S26 phones that Samsung announced support the new “Hey Plex” wake word, putting Perplexity shoulder-to-shoulder with Google’s Gemini AI assistant, which is integrated into Android on Samsung devices.

“What’s unique is the only other company that has it is Google, right?” said Shevelenko. “It’s a real paradigm shift for Samsung to be going into a multi-AI direction, where they are giving their users choice. And I think they see this as a strategic differentiator.”

Samsung’s inclusion of Perplexity touches many of the company’s own apps including Calendar, Clock, Gallery, Notes and Reminders. The benefit of structuring Perplexity’s AI deeply into Samsung’s software is that people can have a lighter interaction with their phones. As opposed to unlocking their device, navigating the home page, opening the app and entering a query, people will be able to simply press a button, say, “Hey Plex,” starting their search within seconds.

But the integration of Perplexity isn’t limited to Bixby. Shevelenko said Samsung’s browser, aptly named Internet, includes agentic browsing using Perplexity’s Comet technology as well.

Such a significant moment for Perplexity naturally draws parallels to Apple and its partnership with OpenAI, which has partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive for its own hardware efforts. When I asked Shevelenko about the possibility of Perplexity making its own phone or hardware, he responded emphatically, “No.”

“We are laser-focused on working with all the best OEMs,” he said. “Our thing we’re world-class at is building accurate AI that is easy to use and delightful to use and growing that curiosity.”

And while we wait for Samsung to announce new phones, it’ll be interesting to see how Galaxy phone owners use the phone’s AI agents. Soon, people could say, “Hey Google” into their Samsung devices to prompt Gemini, or “Hey Plex” to trigger a query with Perplexity. And options are usually a good thing.

Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.