Donald Trump’s Truth Social challenges Google with Perplexity AI partnership
Truth Social’s move signals its readiness to take on not just rival social networks, but also established big data firms.
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Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is once again in the headlines — this time for venturing into the world of artificial intelligence. The platform has unveiled a new AI-powered search engine, Truth Social AI, aimed squarely at competing with major technology giants such as Google and Meta.
The launch follows a wider industry trend, with other platforms integrating AI chatbots and search capabilities into their services — from Grok on X (formerly Twitter) to Meta’s AI tools for WhatsApp and Instagram. Truth Social’s move signals its readiness to take on not just rival social networks, but also established big data firms.
At present, the AI search engine is accessible via the web version of Truth Social, with plans for iOS and Android releases in the pipeline. The beta version went live recently, followed swiftly by an official announcement from Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).
In that announcement, TMTG confirmed a partnership with San Francisco-based start-up Perplexity AI. Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity offers what it calls an “Answer Engine”, designed to provide direct responses to queries rather than lists of links. According to the company, Truth Social AI is intended to broaden the scope of information available both to the platform’s users and to Truth Social itself.
Perplexity has declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal, but clarified that Truth Social retains full control over the tool’s configuration. This statement comes after a report in The National, a UAE state-owned news outlet, which alleged that responses generated by Truth Social AI frequently drew on conservative-leaning media outlets such as Epoch Times and Fox News.
In response, Perplexity rejected suggestions of bias, asserting that the AI relies on a wide range of sources. Supporting this claim, technology news site 404 Media reported that the system had provided critical assessments — including references to economic slowdowns — when asked about the US economy and Trump-era tariffs.
