How to Use the Perplexity App and Voice Assistant on Your Phone

The short version

Voice turns Perplexity into a search you can talk to while your hands are busy. Ask out loud, hear a sourced answer, and keep talking to follow up. The session is saved afterward, so you can open the sources later.

Step by step

On iPhone

1. Update the Perplexity app to the latest version.
2. Tap the voice icon in the question box. Allow microphone access if asked.
3. Change the voice and other settings with the cog at the top of the screen.
4. Optional: use the Action Button. In the iPhone Settings app, tap Action Button, swipe to Shortcut, choose Perplexity and pick Start voice conversation. Press and hold the button to start talking.

You can also add a voice shortcut to your Home Screen from Apple’s Shortcuts app.

On Android

1. Update the app and tap the banner on its home screen to set up the assistant.
2. Set Perplexity as your default assistant when prompted, or later in your phone’s assistant settings.
3. Open it by swiping from the bottom-left corner toward the center, or by holding the power or home button, depending on your phone.

Good spoken questions

Speak the way you’d ask a well-informed friend, and include the details:

What's a good substitute for buttermilk in pancakes if I only have regular milk and lemons?

I'm at the hardware store. What size drill bit do I need for a number 8 wood screw in pine?

Summarize today's top business news in three short points.

What's the weather this weekend in Asheville, and is anything big happening downtown?

Example

You’re cooking and your hands are covered in flour. You hold the Action Button and ask, “How long should I rest bread dough after shaping, and how do I know it’s ready?” You hear the answer, ask “What if my kitchen is cold?”, and later open the session in History to see the baking sites it cited.

Mistakes to avoid

• Short, vague questions. “Bread time?” gets a guess. Say what you’re doing.
• Not checking important answers. Spoken answers are easy to accept. For anything that matters, open the saved session and its sources later.
• Saying private details out loud in public. Voice sessions are saved like typed ones.
• Forgetting microphone permission. If voice doesn’t start, check the app’s microphone access in your phone’s settings.

Good to know

The assistant can do more than answer questions: Perplexity describes it as able to take actions and handle tasks across your apps. Start with simple requests and check what it does. To limit what Perplexity keeps, see keep your data private in Perplexity.

Related: how to use Perplexity.