Truth Social launches AI search powered by Perplexity amid legal battles

Trump’s Truth Social has launched Truth Search AI, a beta AI search engine powered by Perplexity, currently available on the web with mobile versions coming soon. The move represents the platform’s effort to expand beyond social media into AI-powered search, despite Perplexity facing multiple legal challenges from major publishers for content scraping practices.

What you should know: Trump Media & Technology Group says the AI search tool will “exponentially increase the amount of information available to its users.”

• The feature is currently in beta testing for web users, with iOS and Android versions planned for release soon.
• Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes called it “an even more vital element in the Patriot Economy,” emphasizing the partnership with Perplexity.

The big picture: Truth Social is positioning itself as an alternative to Elon Musk’s X platform, though it continues to struggle financially with a reported $20 million net loss last quarter.

• The AI search integration could help differentiate the platform and attract more users to compete with established social media networks.
• Early testing suggests the AI tool provides responses that aren’t necessarily biased toward Trump, offering critical assessments of economic policies when prompted.

Legal challenges surrounding Perplexity: The AI company powering Truth Search faces significant legal pressure from major media organizations.

• News Corp (Wall Street Journal, New York Post), Conde Nast (The New Yorker, Vogue, Wired), and The New York Times are pursuing legal action against Perplexity for scraping content without permission.
• Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare recently compared Perplexity to “North Korean hackers” for bypassing anti-scraping website protections.

Early bias testing: 404Media tested the AI tool with political questions to assess potential bias toward Trump.

• When asked about the American economy, Truth Search AI responded that it is “facing significant headwinds, with signs of slowdown—most notably by a contraction in GDP, rising inflation, and softening labor market conditions.”
• On Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, the AI stated they “had a negative effect on economic growth and employment, raising costs for businesses and consumers while providing only limited benefits to some manufacturing sectors.”

Competitive context: The launch comes as other social media platforms navigate AI integration challenges.

• X’s Grok chatbot has faced criticism for generating antisemitic and pro-Adolf Hitler responses after Musk attempted to address complaints about “leftist indoctrination.”
• Nunes indicated Truth Social plans to “robustly refine and expand” the search function based on user feedback and implement additional platform enhancements.