Samsung is actively seeking new collaborations with artificial intelligence companies as it looks to carve out a competitive edge against Apple in the mobile space.
TM Roh, the company’s co-CEO and head of its consumer device division, told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday that the tech giant is “open to strategic co-operation” with additional AI players like OpenAI. The move follows Samsung’s recent integration of the Perplexity AI search engine into its mobile operating system.
According to Roh, internal research shows consumers aren’t sticking to a single AI platform—they’re using a mix of services depending on their needs. That behavior, he believes, presents an opportunity for Samsung’s Galaxy devices to stand out, particularly as Apple has yet to roll out many of the AI features it unveiled last year.
“We got into the preparation earlier than others, [and] that is how we have taken and maintained leadership in mobile AI,” Roh said.
Samsung has already embedded Google’s Gemini AI models into its devices and recently launched a voice assistant capable of booking a taxi without any screen interaction. Roh emphasized that offering variety is key to the brand’s appeal.
“Consumers are not bound to one AI platform, they are utilizing multiple AI models,” he explained. “We are open to all solutions … choice, I believe, is how Galaxy AI appeals to consumers.”
The push into AI partnerships comes at a challenging time for the broader smartphone industry. Research firm Counterpoint recently projected a downturn in global shipments, attributing the slump to AI-related demand for memory chips—a trend expected to continue “well into 2027.”
Meanwhile, consumer adoption of AI tools is climbing. According to a PYMNTS Intelligence report, 54% of U.S. adults had used AI for everyday tasks as of January, a five-point jump from the previous month. The research suggests the conversation has shifted from experimentation to habit formation, with many users now turning to AI as their first stop instead of traditional search engines.
Mainstream users—those who rely on AI for routine, low-complexity tasks alongside traditional search—now make up just over a third of consumers, the report found.
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