I didn’t plan to leave Siri. We had a good thing going — or at least, I thought we did.
For as long as I've had an iPhone (17 years), Siri was my go-to for most of the basics. From setting alarms, sending quick texts, and occasionally triggering chaos when it mistook “Play Beyoncé” for “Call Brian.”
But now that Perplexity AI’s voice assistant has landed on iOS, I’ve realized just how much I’ve been settling.
Honestly, Perplexity feels like the AI assistant I always thought Siri would become. Here’s why it’s earned a permanent place on my home screen — and why I’m officially making the switch.
Introducing Perplexity iOS Voice AssistantVoice Assistant uses web browsing and multi-app actions to book reservations, send emails and calendar invites, play media, and more—all from the Perplexity iOS app.Update your app in the App Store and start asking today. pic.twitter.com/OKdlTaG9COApril 23, 2025
It actually does stuff
Siri’s greatest trick has always been sending me to Safari. Ask a question, and I’d often get a list of links or a vague, “Here’s what I found.” Perplexity, on the other hand, acts.
Chatting with Perplexity already feels more natural, like I'm actually speaking with an assistant and not a search engine.
Need a dinner reservation? It books through OpenTable. Granted, users are still required to manually complete the final booking steps, but Perplexity gets you more than halfway there.
Want to send a quick email? Perplexity drafts and sends the email as long as you've given the necessary permissions for the AI to do so on your behalf. Note, if permissions are not granted, the assistant will ask for further information.
Using Perplexity, I’ve set reminders in my Google calendar, looked up trivia and even planned a day out simply by using voice commands.
Chatting with Perplexity already feels more natural, like I'm actually speaking with an assistant and not a search engine. Up until now, Perplexity has been more of an AI search chatbot than assistant.
It works with third-party apps
This might be my favorite part. Perplexity plays nice with the apps I already use. From Uber to Apple Music, it jumps into action instead of throwing up a wall.
Siri, on the other hand? If it’s not an Apple-native app, good luck. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just shrugs and opens the app without doing anything.
Another bonus, I really appreciate the news feature. Because Perplexity is fundamentally a search engine, the app automatically presents trending news each day.
This feature functions similarly to Apple News, providing a convenient way to stay updated without any additional effort
It keeps working when the app is closed
This is a game-changer for me. Perplexity doesn’t stop working when you leave the app.
Now, I can hop over to email or scroll Instagram, and it doesn’t lose the thread. It remains a true assistant; not one that forgets everything the second I swipe away.
It works on older iPhones
One of the biggest surprises? Perplexity’s assistant works great on older iPhones — including my husband's iPhone 12. There's no need to splurge on the latest hardware just to feel like I’ve stepped into the future.
Compare that to Apple Intelligence, which is skipping models like his entirely. That exclusivity feels dated in 2025.
It’s not perfect
Perplexity can’t (yet) set alarms or access native iOS features like turning on Do Not Disturb. And it doesn’t support screen sharing or camera-based prompts the way ChatGPT or Gemini Live does.
But honestly? It handles the majority of tasks I care about and does them better than Siri ever did. That’s a trade-off I’ll take. I'm really excited about Perplexity continuing to evolve and potentially expand the possibilities of what it can do as an assistant.
Want to try it?
If you want to give Perplexity a try on your iPhone, here's what to do:
- Download the Perplexity app from the App Store.
- Grant permissions such as microphone access, reminders access, calendar access, contacts access, location access and notifications. You do this through Settings and can toggle on and off according to your preferences.
- Ask away. From simple queries to complex tasks
You’ll know pretty quickly if it clicks. For me, it clicked after just a few prompts.
Bottom line
Siri walked so Perplexity could run. And while Apple’s AI roadmap is still taking shape and a new Siri is promised, it’s not here yet.
Perplexity is here now. And it’s fast, flexible and genuinely useful. It's the kind of voice assistant I, for one, have been waiting for.
So yeah… sorry, Siri. It’s not me. It’s you.
More from Tom's Guide
- I use Gemini every day — here are 7 mind-blowing prompts I can’t live without
- Here's what really happens when you don't say 'thank you' to ChatGPT — and why I always do
- 7 ChatGPT productivity hacks that you're not using — but should be
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