WhatsApp, being owned by Meta, is a natural platform for the company’s AI integration.
While Meta is often known for nudging users toward its ecosystem by limiting access without logging in, it hasn’t completely shut out third-party developers. In fact, it's leaving the door open for others to bring their AI solutions to its platforms.
On WhatsApp, Meta AI takes center stage—but it’s not alone.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has also made its way into the messaging app, offering users an alternative AI experience.
This happens because Meta cannot stop WhatsApp users from using rivals, since WhatsApp chats only require phone numbers to work. All an AI company needs to do is assign a phone number to its chatbot and make that AI work with WhatsApp.
And this time, Perplexity is also making its presence on the popular messaging app.
You can use Perplexity directly from WhatsApp now. Answers, sources, image generation. A lot more features coming soon there!
+1 (833) 436-3285
pic.twitter.com/Ux4CUO6ipR— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) April 28, 2025
Announcing the move on X, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said that users of WhatsApp will be able to get "answers, sources, image generation" from Perplexity's AI directly from their chats, with "a lot more features coming soon."
Users of WhatsApp can use Perplexity for tasks such as answering questions, researching topics, summarizing content, and even generating custom images for free.
The 'newbie CEO' who challenges Google by trying to reinvent online search with AI, also said that users can use Perplexity on AI for things like fact-checking, saying that users can forward any WhatsApp message to Perplexity, "and get it fact checked instantly."
Since WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging apps in the world—with over 2 billion users, integrating ChatGPT into WhatsApp puts the powerful AI in a space people already use daily, making it instantly accessible and friction-free.
With frictionless experience, the ubiquity of WhatsApp on mobile and its end-to-end encryption, as well as its global accessibility, should make the AI chatbot more accessible to users worldwide, especially in regions where WhatsApp is a primary communication tool.
In a digital world cluttered with apps and endless logins, Perplexity’s arrival on WhatsApp is a refreshing change.
No downloads, no sign-ups, no subscriptions—just open a chat and start asking.
To start using the AI, all users have to do is add (1-800-242-8478) to their list of contacts, and start chatting with Perplexity AI.
You can now forward any WhatsApp message to Perplexity: +1 (833) 436-3285 and get it fact checked instantly. This is super useful when WhatsApp groups are filled with a ton of forwarded messages which could be misleading. pic.twitter.com/y1C8ZIj7d8
— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) May 1, 2025
Meta’s decision to bake its assistant directly into WhatsApp has created some backlash, with some people thinking how monopolistic Meta has further become. A lot of people even demand a way to turn it off, and make it disappear.
As such, ChatGPT's presence, and Perplexity's should be a breath of fresh air.
It's being hailed as the simplest, fastest, and perhaps the most quietly disruptive shift in how people can interact with digital assistants.