AI assistants are becoming increasingly common, even on WhatsApp. Whether it’s Meta’s built-in assistant or ChatGPT, which joined the platform in December last year, these tools are helpful for users who rely heavily on WhatsApp and want to avoid switching between apps. Now, there’s a new addition to the lineup: Perplexity.
Earlier today, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas announced on X that WhatsApp users can now access the Perplexity assistant directly through the app. To get started, simply begin a new chat with the number +1 (833) 436-3285 or use the provided WhatsApp shortlink to start chatting instantly.
From answering questions to generating images and citing sources, Perplexity covers most of the basics. According to Aravind, more features are on the way. However, in our brief testing, the experience was noticeably sluggish. The assistant still needs significant improvement, especially in image generation and handling conversational queries. It occasionally refused to generate images, and many responses lacked depth or completeness.
In a typical use case like sending an image and asking the assistant to identify it or provide feedback Perplexity often failed to respond accurately, sometimes even returning an unrelated AI-generated image. That said, many of these glitches will likely be resolved over time as the platform matures.
What are your thoughts on Perplexity or AI chatbots arriving on WhatsApp? Do you find them helpful? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
