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Perplexity’s free AI offer left it with millions more users in India
Perplexity’s partnership with Airtel offered a free year of its Pro AI service to 360 million customers, resulting in a massive spike in downloads and user engagement. Although downloads decreased after the offer ended, monthly active users remained significantly higher than before, and revenue saw an increase, suggesting some users may transition to paying customers. This experiment highlights challenges in monetizing India's vast tech market.
Key points
- Perplexity offered a free 12-month Pro subscription starting July 2025 through Airtel, targeting 360 million users.
- This promotion led to a surge of 5.9 million downloads in July 2025 and a total of 56 million downloads during the promotion period.
- Monthly active users peaked at 22 million in October but dropped to 14 million in July 2026, which is still significantly higher than pre-promotion levels.
- Despite decreasing downloads post-promotion, in-app revenue rose by 60% after February 2026.
- The growth for Perplexity may be attributed to increased visibility and user habit rather than direct conversions from free to paying subscribers.
Why it matters
- India’s substantial market for technology adoption and low mobile data costs make it an appealing target for AI companies.
- Other companies like OpenAI and Google are following suit with similar free subscription offers in India, indicating a trend.
- Historically, AI firms have struggled to monetize in India despite significant user acquisition due to price sensitivity.
Perplexity's initiative offers valuable insights into user engagement and revenue potential in India, showcasing both the challenges and opportunities of transitioning users from free to paid services in a competitive AI landscape.