Snapchat partners with Perplexity to offer an enhanced AI chat experience in its app

Snap Inc. and AI search startup Perplexity have just announced a massive partnership that will plug Perplexity’s answer engine directly into Snapchat.

Perplexity is committing $400 million in a mix of cash and equity over one year to secure this. The payments are tied to a successful global rollout, with Snap expecting the new revenue stream to kick in during 2026.

A $400 million deal was struck between Snapchat and Perplexity

Starting in early 2026, Snapchatters worldwide will find Perplexity’s tech slotted right into the popular Chat interface on their phones. So now, instead of just chatting with a bot, users can ask complex questions and receive clear, conversational answers.

The main difference here is that Perplexity’s responses are drawn from verifiable, credible sources. It will even provide in-line citations.

CEO Aravind Srinivas said the company’s mission is “to support the world’s curiosity”. By embedding inside Snapchat, they get to “serve that curiosity directly where it occurs”.

For Snap, the benefits are that it gets to offer a souped-up AI experience to its community of nearly one billion monthly active users. Snap’s CEO Evan Spiegel said the goal is to make AI “more personal, social, and fun”.

This new feature won’t boot the existing My AI chatbot. Perplexity joins the party as a dedicated, fact-checked answer engine. It marks the first time Snap has allowed an external AI partner to integrate at this massive scale.

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And yes, Snap also confirmed that user messages to Perplexity will be used to enhance app personalisation.

The news comes just weeks after Samsung announced the launch of the Perplexity app for its smart TVs.