Key Takeaways
- Perplexity AI, an AI search engine, can now be used directly within WhatsApp.
- To start chatting with Perplexity AI on WhatsApp, add its phone number (+1 (833) 436-3285) to your contacts.
- This follows a similar move by OpenAI, which previously made ChatGPT available on WhatsApp.
- Concerns have been raised about Perplexity’s potential data collection practices for advertising purposes.
- Perplexity utilizes AI models from various companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and X.
AI chatbots are finding their way into familiar apps, and WhatsApp is no exception. Now, you can chat with the AI search engine Perplexity directly within your WhatsApp conversations.
Getting started is straightforward. Just save Perplexity AI’s phone number, +1 (833) 436-3285, to your phone’s contacts. Once saved, you can initiate a chat with it just like any other contact on WhatsApp.
This isn’t the first AI to appear on the popular messaging platform. OpenAI introduced a way to interact with ChatGPT via WhatsApp several months ago, indicating a trend of AI services leveraging the app’s massive user base.
Of course, Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is heavily promoting its own Meta AI within WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. You might find Meta AI buttons prominently placed, sometimes making it easy to trigger accidentally.
While chatting with AI inside WhatsApp offers convenience, there are points to consider regarding Perplexity specifically. According to tech news site BGR, Perplexity’s CEO discussed plans for a future browser designed to track user activity extensively to serve relevant ads.
This focus on harnessing user data for advertising raises potential privacy questions. It suggests a model similar to how Google and Facebook operate, but potentially amplified by AI’s data processing capabilities.
It’s also useful to know that Perplexity doesn’t solely rely on its own technology. It often uses AI models developed by other major players like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and X to generate answers.
So, why bring AI into WhatsApp chats at all? For AI companies, it provides access to a huge global audience, especially in markets where users spend significant time in messaging apps.
Convenience is another major factor for users. Accessing AI help without switching apps can be appealing. In some regions, WhatsApp data usage might even be offered at lower rates or unmetered by mobile carriers, making AI potentially more accessible.
Ultimately, whether you use Perplexity, ChatGPT, or Meta AI within WhatsApp is your choice, weighing the convenience against factors like data privacy and the underlying technology used by each service.
