A few days before its event Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung launched an announcement that changes the logic of the mobile assistant. On the Galaxy S26, users will be able to summon not one, but several artificial intelligence agents, and Perplexity is the first partner to officially join this ecosystem. The direction is clear: Galaxy AI will no longer be a closed proprietary assistant, but an open platform where Bixby, Gemini, and now Perplexity coexist.
"Hey, Plex": much more than a voice shortcut
The integration of Perplexity into Galaxy AI is not just a pre-installed app destined to be forgotten in a folder. Samsung is anchoring the agent directly into the operating system framework, giving it native access to Samsung Notes, Calendar, Gallery, Clock, and Reminders. Third-party applications will also be compatible, although the exact list has not yet been revealed.
Activation can be done via the voice command " Hey Plex " or by a long press on the smartphone's side button, the same privilege granted until now to Bixby and Gemini. This symmetry of access is a strong signal: Samsung treats Perplexity as a first-tier agent, not a secondary plugin. The goal is to enable contextual actions directly within applications, not just to provide text-based answers in an isolated chat interface.
The strategy: become the platform, not the fighter
For years, Samsung has tried to impose Bixby against Google Assistant, then against Gemini, without ever fully convincing. Bixby's relative failure has convinced the Korean firm to adopt a radically different approach. Rather than betting everything on a single in-house assistant, Samsung chooses to become the orchestrator which brings together several AIs in a coherent experience.
Won-Joon Choi, president of Samsung's Mobile eXperience division, summarizes this vision by stating that "Galaxy AI acts as an orchestrator, bringing together different forms of artificial intelligence into a unique and coherent experience." This positioning is reminiscent of the web browser strategy in its early days: Samsung is not betting on having the best engine, but on being the window through which all engines are accessible. Faced with Apple, which tightly controls Siri, and Google, which pushes Gemini on Android, Samsung is playing the openness card as a differentiator.
Why 80% of users are no longer content with a single agent
Samsung relies on a concrete figure to justify this shift: nearly 80% of users juggle between more than two AI agents in their daily tasks. This behavior reflects a reality that manufacturers have long ignored. A user might prefer Gemini for its integration with Google Workspace, while using Perplexity for enhanced web searches and Bixby to control system functions and SmartThings devices.
Perplexity brings precisely what Bixby has been missing since its launch: a conversational reasoning capability on the web, with sourced and synthesized answers in real-time. Bixby, for its part, remains the only agent to benefit from deep access to the hardware layers of One UI, making it a natural complement rather than a direct competitor to Perplexity in this multi-agent ecosystem. The two intelligences therefore operate in distinct areas, making their coexistence logical rather than redundant.
One UI 8.5: a silent overhaul already underway
Samsung's official announcement is not a complete surprise to One UI observers. The beta One UI 8.5, tested for several weeks in a handful of countries (India, United States, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Germany), had already revealed a redesign of the Bixby interface integrating Perplexity. Screenshots from this beta showed examples of contextual interactions, such as recommendations based on local weather, a sign of an architecture where Bixby serves as the system facade and Perplexity provides the conversational intelligence.
This partnership between Samsung and Perplexity is not starting from scratch. The two companies had already collaborated to integrate Perplexity's AI search engine into certain connected TVs of the Samsung range. However, the move to smartphones represents a significant upgrade, with much more important privacy and personal data access issues than on a television. We will have to closely monitor the terms of use and the permissions granted to Perplexity on these devices, especially since the startup is facing several lawsuits related to accusations of unauthorized use of protected content.
Galaxy Unpacked on February 25: the complete vision expected
Samsung has scheduled its next Galaxy Unpacked on February 25, 2026, in San Francisco, and that's where the multi-agent strategy should be fully detailed on stage. The event will be broadcast live from 7:00 PM (Paris time) on the brand's official channels. Several questions remain pending before this presentation: will Perplexity's integration be limited to the Galaxy S26 range or extended to older devices compatible with One UI 8.5? Which third-party applications will join the list of partners in the multi-agent ecosystem?
What is certain is that Samsung is drawing a clear line with its competitors. Where Apple locks down access to Siri and Google imposes Gemini as the sole entry point on Android, Samsung offers a truly agentic OS, where the user chooses their AI like they choose their browser. If the execution lives up to the promise, the Galaxy S26 could redefine what we expect from a smart smartphone in 2026.
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