Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas says Android needs to be rebuilt, here’s why

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, has taken a swipe at Android’s current architecture, arguing that the operating system is more aligned with protecting Google’s ad-driven business model than enabling true AI-powered experiences.

In a pointed post on X (formerly Twitter), Srinivas wrote: “Android needs to be rebuilt for AI. It’s currently optimised for preserving Google’s ad business rather than a truly agentic OS.”

His post comes at a time when Perplexity is building Comet, an AI browser that will take on Google. Srinivas’ post also poses a larger questions: as AI assistants become more central to smartphones, can current platforms — especially ones like Android which are deeply entangled with advertising — truly evolve into intelligent, agentic systems that serve users first?

Srinivas’ critique suggests Android’s priorities are misaligned with the coming age of AI agents. These tools are designed to act proactively on users’ behalf rather than just responding to inputs. He implies that meaningful progress in AI-first mobile computing may require foundational changes to the OS itself, not just the addition of AI features layered on top.

Google has recently ramped up its AI push, integrating its Gemini models into Android and apps like Gmail, Docs, and Search. Google has starting baking in a lot of Gemini AI in Chrome as well but it’s still not an AI browser. It will be interesting to see how Google evolves Chrome when the likes of Comet and other AI browsers go mainstream.