Samsung’s IFA announcement in Berlin marks a decisive step toward an “open agent” vision for consumer AI: the company is bringing multiple third‑party AI agents — Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Perplexity — onto its displays and broader device family through its new Vision AI Companion, while accelerating Galaxy AI coverage across hundreds of millions of phones and tablets.
Samsung’s Vision AI Companion is the centerpiece of its IFA 2025 showcase, presented as an evolution of Bixby and Samsung’s existing AI toolkit into a multimodal, multi‑agent platform for TVs, smart monitors, and other displays. The experience is described as conversational and visual first: press the AI button on the remote and the Companion can answer questions about what’s on screen, make recommendations, translate dialogue in real time, and surface related images or videos. Samsung frames Vision AI Companion as an aggregator that allows different AI agents to be invoked as part of a single, coherent experience.
Alongside the Vision AI announcement Samsung reiterated its Galaxy AI growth trajectory: Galaxy AI was made available to over 200 million devices in 2024 and Samsung has committed to expand that reach to over 400 million devices by the end of 2025. Those figures and the strategic partnerships underpinning the company’s “AI Home” vision were also featured across Samsung’s regional Newsroom posts and broader press coverage. (samsungmobilepress.com, afp.com)
However, the potential upside depends entirely on execution. The key success factors are transparent data practices, predictable UX that avoids fragmenting the user experience, robust content provenance and moderation, and clear value propositions that justify a more interactive TV. The unresolved reports of Samsung’s prospective investment in Perplexity add strategic intrigue but also regulatory and competition questions that could amplify scrutiny.
For consumers, this era promises more choice: the ability to summon different AI capabilities depending on whether you want a conversational search, a productivity prompt, or a summarized answer. For developers and service providers, it opens an opportunity to optimize content and metadata for agent indexing and to design agent‑aware experiences. For regulators and privacy advocates, it is a reminder that openness in agent selection must be matched by openness about how data moves between devices and clouds.
Samsung’s Vision AI Companion marks a pivotal moment in how OEMs conceive of displays — not merely as output devices but as active, context‑aware AI surfaces. Whether this vision becomes a practical improvement for everyday users will hinge on the transparency of integrations, the subtlety of UX, and the rigor with which partners honor privacy and safety commitments. (news.samsung.com, scmp.com)
Conclusion: Samsung’s multi‑agent strategy at IFA 2025 is a bold step into an era of pluralistic, screen‑centric AI, rich with potential — but its long‑term success will be measured by privacy safeguards, UX clarity, and the industry’s ability to make multiple AI agents feel like a single, helpful companion rather than a confusing collection of voices. (news.samsung.com, samsungmobilepress.com)
Source: SamMobile Samsung partners with Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity for AI agents
Background
Samsung’s Vision AI Companion is the centerpiece of its IFA 2025 showcase, presented as an evolution of Bixby and Samsung’s existing AI toolkit into a multimodal, multi‑agent platform for TVs, smart monitors, and other displays. The experience is described as conversational and visual first: press the AI button on the remote and the Companion can answer questions about what’s on screen, make recommendations, translate dialogue in real time, and surface related images or videos. Samsung frames Vision AI Companion as an aggregator that allows different AI agents to be invoked as part of a single, coherent experience. Alongside the Vision AI announcement Samsung reiterated its Galaxy AI growth trajectory: Galaxy AI was made available to over 200 million devices in 2024 and Samsung has committed to expand that reach to over 400 million devices by the end of 2025. Those figures and the strategic partnerships underpinning the company’s “AI Home” vision were also featured across Samsung’s regional Newsroom posts and broader press coverage. (samsungmobilepress.com, afp.com)
What Samsung announced at IFA 2025
Vision AI Companion: a multi‑agent hub for displays
Vision AI Companion is being shipped as a software update for eligible Samsung TVs and smart monitors. The feature set listed by Samsung includes:- Conversational Q&A with contextual follow‑ups and screen‑aware answers.
- Visual intelligence for identifying on‑screen objects (actors, artwork, places).
- Live Translate for real‑time, on‑screen translations.
- Adaptive audiovisual optimizations such as AI Picture, AI Upscaling Pro, and Active Voice Amplifier Pro.
- Integration points for third‑party AI agents, notably Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity, which Samsung says will be available as standalone agent apps on TVs and smart monitors.
Microsoft Copilot on Samsung displays
Samsung confirmed that Microsoft Copilot will be integrated into its 2025 lineup of AI‑powered TVs and Smart Monitors, accessible through the Tizen OS home, Daily+, and Click to Search. Copilot’s TV incarnation is pitched toward entertainment discovery, contextual information about onscreen content, and light productivity and learning tasks — all via voice or the remote. Microsoft framed the move as bringing Copilot’s conversational AI to the living room and larger screens. Independent coverage from multiple outlets confirms Copilot will appear as a native, on‑screen assistant on a broad range of models in Samsung’s 2025 catalogue. (news.samsung.com, tomsguide.com)Perplexity as an agent and potential mobile partner
Samsung announced Perplexity as one of the standalone AI agents available to Vision AI Companion users, positioning it as a source for internet‑sourced answers and summarized knowledge. Separately, multiple reports earlier in 2025 indicated Samsung has been in advanced talks to invest in Perplexity and to preload Perplexity’s assistant and search capabilities onto upcoming Galaxy phones and into Bixby and Samsung Internet. Those investment and preload reports have not been confirmed by Samsung publicly, but Perplexity itself has published offers linking Perplexity Pro promotions to Galaxy owners, signalling an active commercial relationship. The possibility of a deeper Perplexity‑Samsung tie — including investment — has been widely reported but remains unverified by either party at the time of the Vision AI announcement. (sammobile.com, scmp.com, perplexity.ai)Why this matters: product strategy and ecosystem implications
From single assistant to multi‑agent platform
Samsung’s move signals a pivot away from the idea that one vendor’s assistant must rule every device. Instead, Samsung is positioning itself as an orchestrator: a platform that lets users pick the AI agent that best fits the task, while maintaining a consistent device UX layer in Vision AI Companion. This mirrors a growing industry trend toward pluralistic AI ecosystems where OEMs surface multiple best‑in‑class agents (search, creativity, productivity) rather than vertically integrating a single provider’s model across all scenarios. Samsung’s explicit inclusion of Google Gemini (already integrated into Galaxy devices), Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity demonstrates that multi‑vendor UX orchestration is now a central product strategy.Better TVs, but also a step toward ambient AI
By embedding conversational intelligence deeper into TVs and monitors, Samsung is reimagining displays as active participants in the home rather than passive endpoints. Vision AI Companion’s visual‑first, contextual approach — identifying objects, surfacing related media, translating dialogue — points toward ambient AI scenarios where displays help with discovery, learning, and multi‑device coordination. For consumers who already rely on smart speakers and phone assistants, this ties the living‑room experience more closely to personal productivity and information workflows.Cross‑vendor synergies: Microsoft integration is strategic
Microsoft’s Copilot integration brings an obvious synergy for Samsung: Microsoft has deep investments across productivity and services (Microsoft 365, Teams, Azure). While Samsung’s TV integration focuses on content discovery and conversational Q&A, the Copilot tie gives Microsoft greater presence in the living room and affords Samsung an easy route to productivity‑oriented experiences on large displays. The partnership benefits both parties: Samsung differentiates its displays while Microsoft reaches users outside the PC/mobile context. However, the precise depth of any cross‑device data sharing and account linking has not been fully detailed by either company.Strengths of Samsung’s approach
- Open agent strategy. Offering multiple AI agents (Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity) reduces single‑vendor dependency and allows Samsung to present the best service for the right scenario.
- Unified UX layer. Vision AI Companion promises a single entry point with consistent UI and remote controls, lowering user friction when switching agents.
- Scale and device reach. Samsung’s Galaxy AI growth target — expanding from ~200 million to over 400 million devices — provides an enormous installed base for partner agents and services. That scale helps partners justify deeper integrations and promotions. (samsungmobilepress.com, afp.com)
- Visual and contextual capabilities. TV‑focused visual intelligence (on‑screen object recognition and contextualized answers) is a natural fit for large displays and represents a user‑facing advancement beyond voice‑only assistants.
- Longer software support. Samsung’s seven‑year upgrade promise for select devices ensures Vision AI Companion and its agent integrations have longevity on supported hardware.
Risks and unresolved questions
Privacy and data flows
A multi‑agent platform multiplies the number of third parties that may process user queries, content data, or contextual signals from the device. Samsung’s messaging emphasizes on‑device features and Samsung Knox protections, but details on how data is routed between Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Perplexity and their cloud services — including what’s stored, for how long, and under which privacy controls — remain sparse in public announcements. Consumers and regulators will demand clearer disclosures about cross‑vendor telemetry, account linking, and whether on‑screen content (including user conversations) is sent to third‑party servers.Fragmentation and inconsistent capabilities
Not all agents are equal in capability, content safety, or knowledge freshness. Users may get inconsistent answers depending on which agent they invoke, and switching between agents for similar tasks could produce confusion. Device makers must craft UX rules that make agent selection seamless, predictable, and explainable; otherwise users will encounter a “which assistant should I use?” problem that undermines the promise of a unified companion.Unclear business models and preloads
Reports that Samsung is close to investing in Perplexity (including widely circulated figures such as a potential $500 million round at a $14 billion valuation) remain unconfirmed by Samsung. If Samsung does invest or preload Perplexity on phones, it will raise questions about preferred positioning, default assistants, and the economics of bundling. Large OEM preloads and investment could be challenged by rivals and regulators if they limit competition or favor a partner’s services on default device settings. Journalistic and market coverage indicates such talks are active but not finalized; readers should treat investment figures as speculative until officially announced. (sammobile.com, scmp.com)Content moderation, hallucinations and liability
AI assistants on TVs will be asked factual questions about people, news, and media. Different agents use different model stacks and retrieval strategies; errors or “hallucinations” could occur, and the legal/regulatory responsibility for harmful or false output may be blurred across Samsung and its partners. Clear disclaimers, content provenance display, and robust fallback strategies will be essential for consumer trust.UX intrusiveness and user adoption
Several reviewers have noted that an AI agent overlay on a TV may feel intrusive during passive content consumption. Conversational interruptions, animated on‑screen avatars, or voice prompts could degrade the viewing experience for users who prefer to simply watch. Adoption will depend heavily on Samsung and partner agents getting the balance right between helpfulness and non‑intrusiveness. Early reviews of Copilot on TVs already include a healthy dose of skepticism about whether viewers want active dialogue while watching streamed content. (tomsguide.com, techradar.com)What this means for developers, enterprises, and the Windows ecosystem
For app and content developers
Vision AI Companion opens a new vector for content discovery. Developers should prepare metadata, structured content feeds, and scene/context annotations that enable agents to surface accurate recommendations and clips. For content platforms, making show metadata, credits, and chapter markers accessible via APIs will improve discoverability and reduce incorrect answers.For enterprises and productivity users
Microsoft Copilot’s presence on large displays suggests potential extensions for light productivity tasks (summaries, quick lookups, meetings). Although Samsung’s TV integration emphasizes consumer scenarios, enterprises with hybrid meeting spaces may see Copilot on Samsung smart monitors as an additional place for quick collaboration or training sessions. However, any enterprise rollout will hinge on secure account linking and data governance; those details are not fully articulated in the consumer‑facing announcements.For Windows users and cross‑device workflows
Microsoft’s Copilot on Samsung displays could enable closer alignment between a user’s Windows PC and living‑room TV for shared tasks (content discovery, calendar glances, meeting recaps), but the announcements do not promise deep cross‑device synchronization with Windows accounts beyond typical Microsoft service integrations. Windows users who also use Microsoft 365 should watch for future updates about account linking, cross‑device context continuity, and Microsoft‑specific features that surface on Samsung displays. Until Samsung or Microsoft publishes more implementation details, the scope of cross‑device functionality should be considered prospective rather than guaranteed.Practical considerations for buyers
- Check compatibility: Vision AI Companion is arriving via a software update on eligible 2024‑2025 Samsung TVs and smart monitors. Confirm device eligibility before assuming you’ll receive the update.
- Review privacy settings: When Copilot or Perplexity apps are available on your device, review account link prompts and data usage controls. Default settings may enable more telemetry than you prefer; adjust permissions where offered.
- Expect staged rollouts: Samsung’s rollout begins in select markets in late September and expands over months. Not every region will see all agent features at launch, so timelines can vary by geography and carrier or retail channel.
- Watch for promotional bundles: Perplexity has run offers tied to Galaxy ownership (e.g., Perplexity Pro trial offers for U.S. Galaxy owners), indicating Samsung device buyers may see partner promotions and bundled subscriptions. Those offers can introduce paid upgrade paths worth evaluating.
The regulatory and competitive angle
A multi‑agent strategy raises competition and regulatory considerations. Large OEMs preloading specific AI agents or investing in startups can shift market dynamics in search and assistant markets — an area already sensitive because of search incumbents’ dominance. Reports that Samsung might invest in Perplexity and preload the assistant on Galaxy phones point to a deliberate strategy to diversify away from a single dominant search provider. Such moves may attract scrutiny from regulators in markets where platform defaults and bundling are contested. Journalists and industry watchers have reported on ongoing talks and fundraising rumours, but these remain subject to confirmation. (scmp.com, sammobile.com)What to watch next (timeline and signals)
- Official confirmation and details of any Samsung investment in Perplexity — amount, terms, and any preloading or exclusivity clauses. Early reporting suggested discussions but no final agreement. (scmp.com, sammobile.com)
- The late‑September rollout cadence for Vision AI Companion in South Korea, North America, and Europe — check Samsung’s regional Newsroom or device update feeds for exact eligibility lists and timing.
- How Copilot and Perplexity are surfaced in the Vision AI UX (default behavior, agent switching, provenance displays), and what privacy controls are available to end users.
- Any announcements describing deeper Galaxy‑level integrations of Perplexity (Bixby, Samsung Internet, or Galaxy phones) and whether Perplexity becomes a default assistant on new Galaxy hardware. Multiple outlets reported talks but Samsung had not confirmed investment specifics at the time of the IFA announcement. (sammobile.com, scmp.com)
Final analysis: ambition tempered by execution risk
Samsung’s IFA 2025 strategy is ambitious and pragmatic. By turning TVs and monitors into multi‑agent hubs through Vision AI Companion, Samsung is leveraging its display leadership to broaden the practical contexts where AI agents help users. The inclusion of Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity alongside Google Gemini signals a clear embrace of pluralism — a sensible play when no single provider has dominance across every AI use case.However, the potential upside depends entirely on execution. The key success factors are transparent data practices, predictable UX that avoids fragmenting the user experience, robust content provenance and moderation, and clear value propositions that justify a more interactive TV. The unresolved reports of Samsung’s prospective investment in Perplexity add strategic intrigue but also regulatory and competition questions that could amplify scrutiny.
For consumers, this era promises more choice: the ability to summon different AI capabilities depending on whether you want a conversational search, a productivity prompt, or a summarized answer. For developers and service providers, it opens an opportunity to optimize content and metadata for agent indexing and to design agent‑aware experiences. For regulators and privacy advocates, it is a reminder that openness in agent selection must be matched by openness about how data moves between devices and clouds.
Samsung’s Vision AI Companion marks a pivotal moment in how OEMs conceive of displays — not merely as output devices but as active, context‑aware AI surfaces. Whether this vision becomes a practical improvement for everyday users will hinge on the transparency of integrations, the subtlety of UX, and the rigor with which partners honor privacy and safety commitments. (news.samsung.com, scmp.com)
Conclusion: Samsung’s multi‑agent strategy at IFA 2025 is a bold step into an era of pluralistic, screen‑centric AI, rich with potential — but its long‑term success will be measured by privacy safeguards, UX clarity, and the industry’s ability to make multiple AI agents feel like a single, helpful companion rather than a confusing collection of voices. (news.samsung.com, samsungmobilepress.com)
Source: SamMobile Samsung partners with Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity for AI agents
