Snapchat to Integrate Perplexity AI in 2026 Through Licensing Deal
Snapchat is preparing to add another AI chatbot to its platform next year through a partnership with Perplexity AI, a search-focused conversational assistant that draws responses from verifiable web sources. The integration is expected to roll out in early 2026 and will place Perplexity directly in users’ Chat tab, alongside Snapchat’s existing AI assistant, My AI.
Perplexity operates similarly to other large language model-driven chatbots, but positions itself as an “answer engine,” emphasizing transparency and citation of source material. The company says it currently handles more than 150 million user queries per week. For Snapchat, the addition marks another step in its broader push to embed AI-driven discovery and interaction tools more deeply into user communication.
In the collaboration announcement, Snap said that “Starting in early 2026, Perplexity will appear in the popular Chat interface for Snapchatters around the world. Through this integration, Perplexity’s AI-powered answer engine will let Snapchatters ask questions and get clear, conversational answers drawn from verifiable sources, all within Snapchat.”
The move raises questions about how Perplexity will coexist with My AI, the chatbot Snapchat introduced in 2023 and updated significantly through partnerships with OpenAI and Google. According to Snapchat’s Help Center, “My AI is powered by Large Language Models like GPT models from OpenAI and Gemini models from Google and has been trained on a diverse range of texts, with additional safety enhancements and controls unique to Snapchat.” With both assistants present in the same inbox, users may end up comparing responses side-by-side, potentially creating internal competition between the two tools.
Financially, the partnership reflects increasing monetization strategies around AI-driven chat interfaces. Snapchat will receive $400 million from Perplexity for one year of inbox placement, opening the doorway to similar collaborations in the future.
