Artificial intelligence is radically transforming our world, and many now rely on chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to assist with daily tasks, whether school assignments, professional projects, or personal advice. Even sports legends are not immune to the charm of AI. For example, football legend Cristiano Ronaldo recently turned to AI to help research and write his speech before winning the Globe Prestige Award at the Portugal Football Awards ceremony.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Perplexity platform shared a clip of Ronaldo’s speech with the comment: “Cristiano Ronaldo used the Perplexity platform to prepare his speech at the Globe Prestige Award ceremony.” During this, the Portuguese star revealed he was very nervous about preparing his speech, to the extent that he resorted to Perplexity’s AI chat platform to research and write his acceptance speech.

Ronaldo said: “This afternoon I sat at the table thinking about what I would say in this speech. I said to myself: What is the ‘Globe Prestige’ award? Is it an award that ends my career?” “I felt some nervousness and said: This can’t be true. Then I searched for ‘perplexity’ – if you don’t know it, look it up later – and it helped me a bit.”

This candid admission from one of the greatest football players in the world quickly spread, sparking discussions about how even global icons turn to AI tools for assistance. While fans praised Ronaldo’s humility and openness, this revelation also sparked online debates about the increasing use of AI in daily life and whether this growing reliance might diminish humans’ ability to think independently.

Critics fear that over-reliance on AI could weaken skills such as memory and critical thinking. However, many argue that when used responsibly, AI tools can be valuable assistants, helping people save time, enhance ideas, and make more informed decisions.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s admission unexpectedly spotlighted Perplexity at a time when the brand competes with other popular chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. The company later clarified that the footballer’s mention was completely natural, saying: “We were as surprised and excited as anyone to hear Cristiano Ronaldo mention using our tool in his speech!”

Perplexity AI is an AI-powered answer and search engine that combines conversational responses with instant web citations. Unlike traditional search engines that simply display a list of links, Perplexity provides users with concise summaries and direct references to relevant sources. The chatbot was founded by Indian-origin entrepreneur Aravind Srinivas and has rapidly gained popularity among researchers and professionals. Now, apparently, even football greats seek quick AI assistance.