Trump’s Truth Social Unveils Perplexity-Powered AI Search Tool to Rival Google
Truth Social rolls out an AI-powered search tool using Perplexity’s tech, offering conservative-leaning results with customisable source control.
In a significant tech push, Donald Trump's Truth Social has launched Truth Search AI, a new artificial intelligence-powered search engine built in partnership with the rising AI company Perplexity. The tool is designed as a direct challenge to Big Tech giants like Google and is currently available in beta on the web version of Truth Social, with mobile app integration expected soon.
Truth Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind Truth Social, confirmed the launch on Wednesday, describing the tool as a move to "exponentially increase the amount of information available" on the platform. According to the official statement, “Powered by Perplexity, a software and AI company dedicated to providing direct, contextually accurate answers with transparent citations, Truth Search AI is intended to enhance the Truth Social platform.”
Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity positions itself as an "answer engine," designed to provide concise, context-aware responses with source citations. This aligns with the broader trend among social platforms to integrate generative AI, echoing developments such as Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot on X and Meta’s AI tools now present across Instagram and WhatsApp.
One of the key distinguishing features of Truth Search AI is its customised sourcing. While the public-facing version of Perplexity pulls from a wide range of outlets, the version deployed on Truth Social taps into a more narrowly defined set of sources. Reports from Axios and 404Media note that the tool tends to draw from conservative-leaning publishers like Fox News and Epoch Times. However, test results have shown that the tool can deliver nuanced answers, including critical insights on topics such as U.S. economic policy and Trump-era tariffs.
For instance, despite the expectation of ideological bias, some responses reportedly referenced economic slowdowns and negative effects of tariffs—indicating that the search engine isn’t entirely one-sided.
Perplexity confirmed that the integration uses its Sonar API, a developer tool launched earlier this year that allows clients to tailor the AI engine according to their own preferences—including the ability to prioritise or restrict sources. While the financial terms of the agreement between Perplexity and TMTG remain undisclosed, a spokesperson from Perplexity emphasized that all clients using Sonar have full control over how the AI is configured.
This latest initiative comes as AI continues to play a larger role in both U.S. tech innovation and policy. President Trump has made AI a focal point of his administration, including the signing of an executive order aimed at removing obstacles to American AI leadership.
Still, the rollout isn’t without controversy. Perplexity has come under fire from major publishers like the BBC, Dow Jones, and Forbes, who allege the company has reproduced content without proper permissions. The company has pushed back strongly, asserting that such criticisms reflect a misunderstanding of how AI tools interact with public web content.
As Truth Social expands its feature set, the launch of Truth Search AI signals yet another attempt to position the platform as a conservative-friendly alternative in the evolving digital information landscape.
