Optus teams up with Perplexity AI to bring genAI to SMBs

Optus has partnered with American artificial intelligence- (AI) powered answer engine Perplexity AI to offer a free 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription to its consumer and small business mobile customers.

From 2 June, eligible Optus prepaid and postpaid customers will start to receive their free 12 month offer via email or SMS.

Perplexity AI uses a large language model to process queries and synthesise responses based on web search results and is “built to be a digital concierge”, allowing customers to use its search function across all digital channels to be able to utilise AI.

It acts like a traditional search engine, where users can questions around shopping or travel or dining or restaurant recipes, technology or researching on products, said Perplexity AI vice president of business Ryan Foutty.

However, it’s also created an entirely new category of questions that people can ask; in contrast to traditional search engines provide links, Perplexity AI can Perplexity AI can provide answers with multi-step reasoning.

“We built Perplexity to make knowledge accessible to everyone. Our partnership with Optus allows us to reach a broader audience in Australia, helping users navigate the digital landscape with confidence,” Foutty said.

“I think [this] is a great example of being able to help guide and navigate customers through whether it be our products, our processes, which information they need about their connectivity [or] their services.”

For small businesses, Optus chief customer officer of consumer Anthony Shiner said this puts answers into the fingertips for small business who may not have the ability to seek out advice from consultants.

This initiative is a key part of Optus’s broader AI strategy which focuses on leveraging AI to elevate end-to-end customer experience.

“If you ask small businesses [if] are they actively going to go out searching for an AI solution, I think that’s where the challenge is sometimes; How do you get them to think about it? Part of democratising AI is making what we’re doing with Perplexity [is] available to small businesses as part of the mobile plan,” he said.

Foutty said small business face complexities and perceived difficulties across all areas of their operations.

These functions around the business, from financial operations to human resources, supplier management and price negotiations often provide the most immediate value today. As well as identifying new markets or propositions, they can work on customer and competitor research.

“Almost all of these areas are unknowns in many cases,” said Foutty. “The fact that you can now have an expert or a team of experts around you with AI bringing data, information and insight to help do those things … is where the biggest opportunity is.”

Optus’ Shiner said Australia still lags behind in generative AI (genAI) usage compared to other countries. This gap is attributed partly to demographics with many Asia Pacific adopters being young employees and students who found that genAI has led to saved workhours, opportunities for new skill development and more sustainable workloads, he explained.

Optus is committed to making AI more accessible for Australians, while also promoting its role as a positive force in strengthening digital connections.

“AI shouldn’t be reserved for experts or tech insiders,” Shiner said. “We believe that all Australians deserve access to the tools that can make their lives easier, more productive and more informed.

“Whether it’s helping with learning, work, or planning itineraries, AI is a game-changer.”

Closing that gap in Australia will mean organisations like Optus need to partner with organisations like Perplexity to ensure an “easier stepping stone” into AI with the right guardrails in place, he noted.

That’s why Optus has spent “a lot of time working through” its approach to responsible AI, said the telco’s head of artificial intelligence solutions and strategy, Jesse Arundell.

“From the birth and idea to an AI system operating production, making sure that we’re actually understanding the risks associated with use of AI, then also controlling the risks of the use of AI; To me, what that means is really ensuring that our systems are fundamentally safe, sound and secure,” he said.

This means being able to look at the use of AI in software applications, as well as making sure that Optus has strong technology controls in place around data risk management, cyber security controls, data sovereignty and availability resilience, to make sure that the applications that what’s being built is trustworthy, said Arundell.

“For me, being able to ensure that the building [of AI] is trustworthy, actually,” he said. “Inherently, they are compliant by design and, where possible, we have the use of AI, because applications and use cases [need to be] ethical, grounded [and] fair.”