Airtel users can now get a free 1-year subscription to Perplexity Pro, the AI search engine rivaling Google. Learn how to claim this offer and why it matters.
🤝 Airtel and Perplexity Join Hands to Bring AI to Millions — For Free!
In a bold move that may redefine how Indians access information, Bharti Airtel has partnered with AI-powered answer engine Perplexity to offer a 1-year free subscription to Perplexity Pro to all its customers. This includes:
- 📲 360 million prepaid and postpaid mobile users
- 🌐 Airtel broadband subscribers
The subscription, typically priced at $20/month (₹1,731), will be available at no extra cost via the Airtel Thanks app’s rewards section.
This partnership marks Perplexity’s first collaboration with a telecom operator in India, signaling its ambition to expand aggressively in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing digital markets.
🔍 What Is Perplexity Pro? A Google Search Alternative, Supercharged by AI
Perplexity is not your average search engine. It’s an AI-driven answer engine designed to provide direct, summarized, and sourced answers to queries—similar to ChatGPT but optimized for real-time web results.
With the Perplexity Pro subscription, users get:
🌟 Key Perplexity Pro Features
- ⚡ Real-time web answers with cited sources
- 🧠 Deep Research Agent: Ideal for academic, technical, or market research
- 📊 Pro Search: Enhanced precision and personalized responses
- 📚 Summarized content from news, blogs, and scholarly sources
- 🗣️ Natural language interface: Ask complex questions and get simple, direct answers
This AI tool is already being widely used by students, professionals, and content creators to research, learn, and get things done—without endless scrolling or ad clutter.
🌏 Why India? Perplexity’s Bet on a Digitally Hungry Nation
India is a top 4 market for Perplexity in terms of daily traffic, according to co-founder Aravind Srinivas. In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Srinivas revealed:
“India is in our top 10 countries by revenue and among our top 4 by daily usage. We’ve seen a surprisingly high willingness to pay, despite the price point.”
India’s digital economy is exploding, and the population is AI-curious and mobile-first. This makes it an ideal market for Perplexity, especially with a trusted partner like Airtel that already commands massive user trust.
🧠 A Strategic Move to Rival Google?
This announcement comes shortly after Google announced free Gemini Pro AI subscriptions for Indian students, suggesting a growing battle for AI dominance in India.
While Google’s Gemini 2.5 offers deep integration with its own ecosystem (Docs, Gmail, Sheets), Perplexity focuses squarely on reimagining the search experience—clean, citation-backed, and real-time.
“This is a first-of-its-kind Gen-AI partnership in India. We want to help our users stay ahead in the digital world with ease and confidence,”
said Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman & MD of Bharti Airtel.
📲 How Airtel Customers Can Avail the Free Perplexity Pro Offer
If you’re an Airtel user, here’s how to claim your free AI-powered assistant:
✅ Who’s Eligible?
- All Airtel prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers
- All Airtel Xstream Fiber/broadband users
🚀 How to Redeem:
- Download or open the Airtel Thanks App (Android/iOS)
- Navigate to the “Rewards” section
- Look for the Perplexity Pro 1-Year Free Subscription
- Tap to activate and follow the instructions
There is no stated redemption deadline yet, but users are advised to claim the offer early to avoid missing out.
🗺️ Perplexity’s Growing Presence in India: Beyond Just Search
Perplexity is not stopping at this Airtel deal. It’s been actively localizing content and partnering with Indian companies to boost relevance.
🇮🇳 India-Specific Moves by Perplexity:
- 🏏 Cricket Portal: Launched a dedicated IPL page with match schedules, live updates, and team standings
- 🎬 Entertainment Search: Plans to improve discovery of Indian TV shows, movies, and streaming content
- 🈳 Local Language Support: Developing better multi-language capabilities
- 💳 Paytm Partnership: In February, Perplexity integrated with the Paytm app to bring its AI engine into daily payments and utilities
These efforts reflect the company’s deep commitment to India as a long-term growth market.
💰 Valuation, Backers & Growth Trajectory
Founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, Perplexity AI has quickly become one of the hottest startups in the generative AI space.
🧾 Key Highlights:
- 💸 Raised $500 million in funding
- 💎 Valued at $9 billion (as of last round)
- 🚀 In talks to raise more at a $14 billion valuation
- 🤖 Backed by NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos, and Institutional Venture Partners
With these deep pockets and tech visionaries behind it, Perplexity is clearly gunning for a major slice of the AI search market, currently dominated by Google.
🧭 Expert Insight: What Does This Mean for Indian Users?
Tech analysts view this partnership as a watershed moment in how AI becomes mainstream in India.
“The Airtel-Perplexity deal signals the next phase of AI adoption. Telcos bundling AI tools into everyday digital services will be a game changer,”
says Rahul Bansal, Digital Strategy Consultant at InnovateTech.
🌐 Why It Matters:
- 🧑🎓 Students get smarter tools for learning
- 👨💼 Professionals save time on research and productivity tasks
- 👩👧👦 Households gain an intuitive assistant for daily life
This move could trigger a chain reaction of AI adoption via telcos, paving the way for more accessible AI for India’s 1.4 billion people.
📌 Final Thoughts: Is This the Beginning of AI for Everyone?
From AI search engines to productivity apps, the next internet revolution is being powered by intelligent answers—not just links. With Perplexity Pro now free for Airtel users, Indians are getting a taste of what the future of AI-first search looks like.
If you’re an Airtel customer, don’t miss this opportunity to try Perplexity Pro—an intelligent, ad-free, citation-based search engine that could very well change how you find information forever.
👉 Claim your free subscription today via the Airtel Thanks app and experience smarter search!
Need help choosing between Perplexity and Gemini? Stay tuned—we’ll compare them side by side in our next post. 🔍📊
