Credit: Motorola

Google's antitrust remedy trial started this week, and the Department of Justice has produced several witnesses to testify about how Google's stranglehold on search has slowed their innovation. On day three, Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko told the court that Google blocked Perplexity from being bundled with Motorola phones, which is precisely the kind of anticompetitive behavior that got it in hot water. It would appear Google is backing away, though, because Perplexity is included with Moto's newly announced flip phones.

During questioning on Wednesday, Shevelenko likened Google's mobile integration contracts to a "gun to your head." He claimed that both Motorola and Perplexity, which positions itself as an AI search engine, were interested in a partnership last year, but the phone maker was unable to get out of its Google distribution contract, which prevented it from using a non-Google assistant platform.

Google has long required Android device makers to use Assistant on their devices, but Google's launch of Gemini added a sense of urgency. Google is pushing Gemini into every corner of its ecosystem with the aim of catching up to ChatGPT, and it might be working. Motorola's 2024 phones were some of the first to prominently feature Gemini as the default assistant instead of Google Assistant. Apparently, that left no room for Perplexity as OEMs are unwilling to risk their Google revenue-sharing agreements.

In his antitrust testimony, Shevelenko noted that having default placement is important but difficult to secure due to Google's omnipresence on phones. He said the process of changing the default is like a "jungle gym," Bloomberg reported. It apparently took Shevelenko 10–15 minutes to change from Gemini to Perplexity on a Motorola phone, and he had to ask the company's IT staff for help. While it's not a setting you'll run across often, it's a bit hyperbolic to claim it takes 15 minutes to swap an app default. The option is in the Default Apps menu, which is two taps deep in the settings. You can also search the settings for "assistant," and the default assistant menu is one of the top results.

Shevelenko was also asked about Chrome, which the DOJ would like to force Google to sell. Like an OpenAI executive said on Monday, Shevelenko confirmed Perplexity would be interested in buying the browser from Google.

Motorola has all the AI

There were some vague allusions during the trial that Perplexity would come to Motorola phones this year, but we didn't know just how soon that was. With the announcement of its 2025 Razr devices, Moto has confirmed a much more expansive set of AI features. Parts of the Motorola AI experience are powered by Gemini, Copilot, Meta, and yes, Perplexity.

While Gemini gets top billing as the default assistant app, other firms have wormed their way into different parts of the software. Perplexity's app will be preloaded, and anyone who buys the new Razrs. Owners will also get three free months of Perplexity Pro. This is the first time Perplexity has had a smartphone distribution deal, but it won't be shown prominently on the phone. When you start a Motorola device, it will still look like a Google playground.

While it's not the default assistant, Perplexity is integrated into the Moto AI platform. The new Razrs will proactively suggest you perform an AI search when accessing certain features like the calendar or browsing the web under the banner "Explore with Perplexity." The Perplexity app has also been optimized to work with the external screen on Motorola's foldables.

Moto AI also has elements powered by other AI systems. For example, Microsoft Copilot will appear in Moto AI with an "Ask Copilot" option. And Meta's Llama model powers a Moto AI feature called Catch Me Up, which summarizes notifications from select apps.

It's unclear why Motorola leaned on four different AI providers for a single phone. It probably helps that all these companies are desperate to entice users to bulk up their market share. Perplexity confirmed that no money changed hands in this deal—it's on Moto phones to acquire more users. That might be tough with Gemini getting priority placement, though.