Perplexity’s free India offer brought millions of new users
Perplexity’s free India offer with Airtel drove millions of downloads and helped build a larger active user base as AI adoption accelerated.
Free can be a powerful growth lever. Perplexity put that strategy to the test in India through a partnership with Airtel, offering eligible customers 12 months of Perplexity Pro at no cost. The promotion helped drive a major increase in downloads and active users, while early revenue data suggests some of that growth has continued beyond the initial promotional period.
How Perplexity’s India offer worked
In July 2025, Airtel and Perplexity announced a partnership giving Airtel customers 12 months of Perplexity Pro for free. The subscription was valued at Rs 17,000, and the offer was available to eligible mobile, broadband and DTH customers.
The redemption window ran from July 17, 2025 to January 16, 2026. Users who claimed the offer received 12 months of access from their activation date, meaning different groups reached the end of their free period at different times. That timing has given Perplexity an early opportunity to see whether users remain engaged after getting premium access for free.
Millions came in, and many stayed
According to the data provided, Perplexity recorded 5.9 million app downloads in India in July 2025, a 625% increase from the previous month. Over the seven months when new redemptions were available, downloads reached around 56 million.
Monthly active users also climbed sharply, reaching about 8.9 million in July and peaking at around 22 million in October. After the promotion ended, downloads fell significantly. However, usage remained well above its earlier baseline, with nearly 14 million monthly active users by July 2026.
That suggests the promotion did more than create a temporary download spike. A sizeable group of users continued using Perplexity after the initial rush had faded. Revenue also showed signs of resilience.
According to the figures provided, Perplexity’s India in-app purchase and subscription revenue between February and mid-August was around 60% higher than during the period when new redemptions were available.
However, the numbers need some caution. Perplexity’s terms state that subscriptions can automatically renew after the free period unless users cancel, so some revenue may have come from customers who did not actively opt out.
What the offer means for AI in India
The Airtel partnership gave Perplexity access to one of India's largest consumer networks and helped establish the country as an important market for the AI search company. More importantly, it demonstrated how free premium access can lower the barrier to trying an AI product at scale.
Once users build habits around research, writing and information discovery, some may continue using the service even after the promotional period ends. The bigger test will be conversion. As more users reach the end of their 12-month access period, Perplexity will have to show how many are willing to keep paying.
For now, the India experiment offers a useful lesson for the AI industry: free access can create enormous reach, but lasting growth depends on turning that initial curiosity into regular use and, eventually, paid demand.