Over the past year, Perplexity ran one of the most ambitious growth experiments in the AI industry—giving away its premium service for free to customers of Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator. As the first wave of those free subscriptions expires, early results are emerging, offering a real-world test of whether bundling premium AI services can convert giveaway users into lasting customers and recurring revenue.
The Partnership and Its Immediate Impact
In July 2025, Perplexity partnered with Airtel to offer a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro—normally priced at around $200—to the carrier’s 360 million customers. Redemption for new users ended on January 16, 2026, but because each subscriber retained Pro access for a full year from activation, the earliest beneficiaries began hitting the end of their free period in July 2026. At that point, they faced a choice: opt out of auto-renewal or start paying for the service.
The giveaway’s immediate effect was striking. According to Sensor Tower data shared with TechCrunch, Perplexity saw 5.9 million app downloads in India in July 2025 alone—a 625% surge from the previous month and more than the 5.4 million downloads it had recorded in the entire first half of 2025.
Growth Beyond the Launch Month
That momentum didn’t fizzle out. During the seven months the offer was open to new users, Perplexity logged 56 million downloads in India—more than nine times the number in the preceding seven-month period. Monthly active users in the country more than doubled to 8.9 million in July 2025 and peaked at 22 million by October.
This case offers a pivotal early signal for the wider AI industry: can free distribution through telecom partnerships build durable, paying user bases? Or does growth evaporate once the perks end? As the first cohorts hit the renewal point, the answers are beginning to surface.
via TechCrunch AI