Perplexity has partnered with Bharti Airtel to offer a free subscription to the Pro version of its service to over 360 million subscribers in India. This strategy allows Perplexity to compete with OpenAI in the growing Indian market.
Partnership with Bharti Airtel
Perplexity announced its collaboration with telecommunications company Bharti Airtel. As part of this partnership, Airtel subscribers can subscribe to the Pro version from July 17, 2025, to January 17, 2026, via the Airtel Thanks app.
Benefits of the Pro Subscription
The Pro subscription for the Perplexity service will provide users with access to up to 300 AI-powered searches per day. Additionally, subscribers will be able to work with advanced language models like Gemini 2.5 Pro, GPT-4.1, and Claude 4.0 Sonnet, as well as uploading and analyzing files and DALL-E image generation.
Growing Popularity of Perplexity in India
Perplexity is also witnessing significant growth in its presence in India. Downloads of this tool rose by 600% year on year, reaching 2.8 million in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Monthly Active Users of Perplexity increased by 640% compared to the previous year. However, monetizing users in India remains a challenging task.
The partnership between Perplexity and Bharti Airtel highlights the growing role of generative AI in India and the market potential for such services. Despite challenges in monetization, the company is actively expanding its offerings and exploring growth opportunities.
