Aravind Srinivas Says Google Beats Perplexity on Everyday Searches

Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas has acknowledged the continued dominance of Google in key areas of mobile search, even as his company pushes to compete with the tech giant through its AI-powered browser, Comet.

In a recent social media post, Srinivas said Google remains the default search engine on Comet’s iOS version because it performs better for common mobile use cases such as finding local businesses, checking sports scores, shopping and booking hotels. He added that Google “does a much better job… than anyone else in the world,” including Perplexity.

The comments highlight the competitive tension between the two companies. Perplexity, founded in 2022, has been positioning itself as an AI-driven alternative to traditional search engines, integrating conversational answers and task automation into its products.

Its Comet browser, launched in 2025 and expanded to iOS in 2026, is designed to embed AI directly into browsing, enabling users to perform tasks such as summarising content or making purchases. However, breaking Google’s dominance, especially on mobile, remains a major challenge.

Google, too, has been steadily expanding its “AI Mode,” a new search experience designed to move beyond traditional blue links and deliver more conversational, context-aware results. Its AI Mode transforms search using Gemini to deliver conversational answers, summaries and task-based results. It moves beyond links, helping users complete complex queries, as Google responds to competition from Perplexity AI.

Srinivas has previously criticised Google’s grip on the internet, but his latest remarks suggest a more pragmatic stance, acknowledging that while Perplexity is innovating in AI search, it still has ground to cover in everyday mobile search experiences.