Turns out, confusion might be the sleeping feature of the Samsung Galaxy S26

There have been a lot of references to artificial intelligence today Galaxy Unpacked event. But Samsung is not alone; Almost all major smartphone launches in recent years have included new AI features or partnerships with AI companies.

Samsung Fired Its latest version of Galaxy AI, where it debuts side by side Galaxy S26 phones. This comes after the weekend news That the company plans to integrate Perplexity’s AI agent — and even support the “Hey Plex” wake word — on its new phones. But the partnership appears to go beyond just giving Samsung users another AI option.

Since late 2023, phone makers have been leapfrogging each other to add generative AI features and incorporate AI agents. Almost everything new Android phone Supports Google Assistant Gemini. Apple iPhone Integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into the phone’s visual intelligence and features Fix Siri It will integrate Google’s Gemini AI models.

While Perplexity has partnered with phone makers like Motorola to preload its app — and it’s integrated In devices for Deutsche Telekom – Integrating AI and modeling directly into phones from the world’s largest manufacturer puts the company on a much bigger stage. It represents a shift towards AI agents being just another tool that people choose to use, much like a phone app.

“The first step towards a mobile proxy ecosystem is for the user to be able to choose any proxy they want,” Dmitry Shevelenko, chief business officer at Perplexity, told CNET. “I think this is where Samsung makes a big leap forward.”

Watch this: First look at Galaxy S26 Ultra: Camera, battery and AI updates

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

“The unique thing is that the only other company that has it is Google, right?” Shevelenko said. “It’s a real paradigm shift for Samsung to go in the direction of multiple AI, where it gives its users freedom of choice. I think they see this as a strategic differentiation.”

Samsung’s inclusion of Perplexity touches on 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 phone. Instead of unlocking their device, navigating to the home page, opening the app and entering a query, people will simply be able to press a button to, say, “Hey Plex,” start their search within seconds.

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

This big moment for Perplexity naturally resembles Apple and its partnership with OpenAI, which partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive for its own project. Hardware efforts. When I asked Shevelenko about the possibility of Perplexity manufacturing its own phone or devices, he answered emphatically: “No.”

“We are very focused on working with the best OEMs,” he said. “The thing we excel at on a global scale is building AI that is accurate, easy to use, and fun to use, and cultivating that curiosity.”

While we wait for Samsung to announce new phones, it will be interesting to see how Galaxy owners use the phone’s artificial intelligence agents. Soon, people will be able to say “Hey Google” on their Samsung devices to prompt Gemini, or “Hey Plex” to start a query using Perplexity. Options are usually a good thing.

Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.