Firefox Adds Perplexity’s AI Search — A Subtle Shot at Google’s Empire

Mozilla just gave its Firefox browser a quiet but powerful upgrade — it’s adding Perplexity’s AI answer engine as a new search option on desktop.

Unlike traditional search engines that throw you a wall of blue links, Perplexity gives direct, conversational answers with citations, almost like chatting with ChatGPT — but built into your browser.

The rollout started gradually with Firefox version 144, so users will soon see “Perplexity” listed alongside Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo when choosing a default search engine.

Why it matters:

This move is bigger than it looks. Mozilla’s long-time search partnership with Google has been both a lifeline and a limitation — Google pays hundreds of millions to stay Firefox’s default search engine. But by adding Perplexity, Mozilla is testing a future where AI search competes head-on with Google’s link-based dominance.

For users, it’s about convenience and choice: want quick AI summaries instead of endless tabs? Firefox just handed you the option.
But for the industry, it’s a sign — AI-native search is quietly becoming mainstream, and browsers are starting to pick sides.

Pros & Cons:

✅ Pros:

• Brings AI search directly into the browsing experience

• Offers faster, citation-backed answers

• Increases user choice and experimentation

⚠️ Cons:

• Raises privacy and data questions for Firefox’s privacy-first image

• Perplexity’s web-scraping controversies could drag Mozilla into messy debates

• Could strain Mozilla’s relationship with Google

Hot Take:

This might look like a small feature update — but it’s Mozilla’s way of saying, “We’re not waiting for Google’s Gemini to define the future of search.”

The AI browser wars have officially begun, and Firefox just picked its ally.