Mozilla has begun experimenting with an AI-based search engine from Perplexity integrated into Firefox. According to Windows Report, users of version 139 of the browser have noticed a new notification in the address bar.
Users are prompted to utilize the Perplexity search engine when making queries. This suggestion appears as a pop-up notification, with an option to opt-out of the testing.
Unlike traditional search engines like Google or DuckDuckGo, Perplexity employs artificial intelligence to gather information from various sources to provide a single, comprehensive answer to queries.
This move may indicate that Mozilla is seeking an alternative to Google, which has been the primary search engine in Firefox for years and accounts for a significant portion of the company's revenue. Whether the testing with Perplexity will evolve into a full partnership remains uncertain. The browser still supports Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Wikipedia.
As a reminder, earlier in May, Mozilla stated that without a deal with Google, Firefox might face closure. CFO Eric Mühlhauser mentioned that court rulings regarding Google's monopoly in the search market pose a threat to the browser's existence.
According to unconfirmed reports, Google pays the browser developers around $400 million annually for the default search engine status. Mühlhauser also indicated that this partnership accounts for approximately 85% of Firefox's revenue.
