I’m starting to worry that Motorola has an AI problem

Motorola was nothing if not patient before adding AI features to its Razr and Edge lineups. It sat by, letting Google and Samsung take the lead on things like Circle to Search, image generators, and more, before adding Gemini to the Razr (2024) series and beta testing Moto AI features at the end of last year.

Now, though, Motorola is all-in. It’s made features like Remember This and Catch Me Up part of the Razr’s Moto AI menu and made room for AI-powered assistants — oh, so many AI-powered assistants. In fact, I’m starting to worry that it’s going too far in the opposite direction, putting AI over everything else on its new Razrs, and here’s why.

These days, most phones come with one assistant onboard, maybe two. Google’s Pixels come with Gemini, Apple’s iPhones come with a slowly improving version of Siri, and Samsung’s Galaxy devices use a slightly confusing mix of Bixby and Gemini. You can install others like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, but they’re not the defaults.

With Motorola, however, there seems to be an idea that more is better. Its Razr now lineup ships with Gemini set as the default assistant and Copilot, and, for the first time, Perplexity is optimized for both the small, square cover screen and the internal display. There’s also Moto AI itself, which covers everyday features like the Image Studio, Playlist Studio, and Pay Attention, along with the Razr Ultra exclusive Look and Talk — confused yet? Yeah, same.

Of course, you could also install these assistants on other iPhones or Android devices. You could put Perplexity on your Pixel or add Copilot to your Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, if you’re doing so, it’s probably because you already have a base familiarity with one platform or another — you know how you might use it, so you’re adding it to your phone. With Motorola, everything is already there right out of the box, and you have to stumble upon it as you learn your way around your Razr.

Unfortunately, counting on users to stumble is the easiest way to make them trip and fall and not want to use features altogether. Suppose you have the option of either counting on Perplexity to do your deep research or Gemini, and only the latter can make an easily digestible AI-generated podcast through NotebookLM. In that case, you might not know which assistant to pick. Likewise, you might be more comfortable using Gemini Live, but then find that your Razr Ultra wants to push you towards Copilot for productivity-minded tasks.

Worse, when you’re ready to wind down with a curated playlist, you’ll discover that Moto AI will only let you port from the Playlist Studio to Amazon Music rather than YouTube Music or Spotify. Why’s that a problem? Well, YouTube Music comes preinstalled on most Android phones, and Spotify is Samsung’s Galaxy go-to, so embracing Amazon Music probably means adding another subscription to an ever-growing, AI-fueled pile — unless you already pay for Amazon Prime.

While I’m slightly concerned about Motorola’s new overload of AI-powered features and assistants, there might be a silver lining — and yes, it’s another AI feature. I know it sounds like fighting fire with fire, but, in theory, Moto AI’s Next Move should help at least guide you from one piece of its AI puzzle to the next, kind of like Google Maps but if its only job was to help you find the difference between Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot. It should be able to pick out when you need creative AI tools and when you need analytical ones, and then comfortably point you in the right direction.

I’ll admit I haven’t given Next Move much run yet. I didn’t spend very long with this year’s Razr series before its launch, nor were all of Motorola’s demo units logged into the required Moto accounts to access Moto AI. So, for now, I have to trust that Next Move will know the difference between when I need Gemini Live for quick answers while I plan a weekend trip to Erie, Pennsylvania, to run a marathon, and when I need Perplexity to help me pick out and organize travel to the most iconic parts of the UTMB ultramarathon — as well as what makes those segments truly unique.

Then, there’s another fear: What if Next Move doesn’t work as well as I hope it will? Yes, Motorola developed it for beta testers who said they weren’t sure when to use certain AI features, but how well will it work for users in that tricky middle ground? You know, the ones like me who have a few AI features that they know and love, but might not necessarily trust more than one voice assistant at a time. I can’t help but worry that Next Move will feel more like a first move, but ultimately have me ready to ditch other features and assistants before I give them enough chance.

Maybe I’m wrong — maybe Motorola has figured out just the right balance of AI assistants and features, and Next Move will keep me bouncing from one to the next in a way I’ve never done before. But, for now, I’m worried I’ll become overwhelmed by choice.