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Samsung’s new TV remote lets you talk with AI about almost anything

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

  • Samsung announces the availability of Vision AI Companion.
  • Via a button on your remote, the new voice assistant can answer complex questions.
  • The AI-powered feature is available only in 2025 Samsung TV models.

Samsung is integrating its next-generation AI assistant directly into its 2025 TVs, featuring a dedicated AI button on the remote that provides access to conversational assistance — not just standard voice commands. Called Vision AI Companion, the system is intelligent enough to engage in a natural, two-way dialogue with users, utilizing multiple AI models to support its cognitive capabilities.

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Samsung wants its users to converse with their TVs’ AI assistants — conversations that extend beyond making streaming requests or quick Q&As. 

Weeks after Amazon brought Alexa+ to Fire TVs and Roku Voice is received an AI upgrade, Samsung is jumping on the bandwagon with its Vision AI Companion. The system integrates several AI models to deliver an upgraded version of Bixby, including those developed through partnerships with Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity, to provide voice-controlled search and answer capabilities, as well as support for 10 languages.

For example, you could reach your Samsung Vision AI Companion with a press of the dedicated button on a compatible Samsung TV and ask the AI about a speaker in a documentary or news cast, then dive deeper into what other analysts think of their opinion — all without pulling your phone out of your pocket. The AI assistant will be able to answer follow-up questions, maintaining the context of your conversation.

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Samsung

Though it is built on Bixby, Vision AI Companion is set to deliver a drastically different experience than the Samsung voice assistant and will also feature a visual element to help you follow along with your conversation on your TV screen.

Beyond simply answering your questions in a conversational manner, Voice AI Companion is also capable of performing Live Translation of on-screen dialogue, generating art for wallpapers, and using AI to upscale images and sound. 

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Unlike the Roku AI Voice feature, which will be an over-the-air update for existing streaming devices, the Vision AI Companion won’t be available for older televisions. Instead, only 2025 Samsung TV models feature the built-in AI. 

In contrast, Amazon’s Alexa+, which upgrades the voice assistant with the integration of generative AI, is now available through an early access program and is compatible with most Fire TV devices, including many existing ones. 

Source: Information Technologies - zdnet.com