Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. announced on July 6 that it has begun public beta testing for a new AI feature on its Truth Social platform. The new tool, called Truth Search AI, is built to function as an AI search engine within the social media site and is supported through a partnership with Perplexity.
“Powered by Perplexity, a software and AI company dedicated to providing direct, contextually accurate answers with transparent citations, Truth Search AI is intended to enhance the Truth Social platform and exponentially increase the amount of information available to its users,” Trump Media said in a press release.
The feature is currently available on the web version of Truth Social. Beta testing for iOS and Android apps will begin at a date that has not yet been announced.
Joining the AI social media movement
President Donald Trump has made AI a priority in his current administration, with the White House announcing the “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan” in July.
With generative AI technology gaining traction, sites are utilizing it to provide users with a new method of searching for information online. These AI search features generally operate by processing user queries by assessing relevant data and providing summarized replies in conversational language.
Many competing social media giants have already incorporated AI within their platforms, usually in the form of a conversational interface. xAI launched Grok, its generative AI chatbot, in 2023. Meta followed soon after in 2024, debuting its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, across its social and messaging platforms. In December, Reddit launched “Reddit Answers,” an AI-powered search tool that generates comprehensive answers to users’ questions.
Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes described the company’s plans for moving forward with the AI feature in the press release, saying, “We plan to robustly refine and expand our search function based on user feedback as we implement a wide range of additional enhancements to the platform.”
Perplexity-powered AI
Nunes also said, “We’re proud to partner with Perplexity to launch our public Beta testing of Truth Social AI, which will make Truth Social an even more vital element in the Patriot Economy.”
Since its founding in 2022, Perplexity has offered its AI web search engine, which provides answers to user queries by summarizing information pulled from sources.
Perplexity’s Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko stated, “We’re excited to partner with Truth Social to bring powerful AI to an audience with important questions. Curiosity is the engine of change, and Perplexity’s AI is developed to empower curiosity by delivering direct, reliable answers with transparent citations that allow anyone to dig deeper.”
Breadth of sourcing questioned
The Verge reported that early tests have shown that Truth Search AI has repeatedly cited a small set of media outlets, including Fox News, Fox Business, The Washington Times, and The Federalist, leading to concerns about the breadth of its sourcing.
In June, we reported on Trump Mobile for ‘real Americans’ and a $499 gold-accented T1 Phone.