Perplexity’s free AI offer left it with millions more users in India
Perplexity partnered with India's Airtel telecom operator in mid-2025 to bundle free premium subscriptions with the carrier's vast customer base, generating substantial adoption metrics during the seven-month promotional window. The initiative yielded 56 million app installations—far exceeding the company's historical download velocity—and expanded monthly active users from roughly 2.6 million to a peak of 22 million by October 2025.
When promotional subscriptions began expiring in mid-2026, new user acquisition collapsed by approximately 90 percent as the offer window closed. However, the platform retained significantly elevated engagement, maintaining roughly 14 million monthly active users through July—nearly six times its pre-promotion levels. Notably, revenue metrics did not decline proportionally to the installation drop, suggesting the campaign succeeded in converting temporary promotional users into a durable, paying user base rather than merely inflating superficial download figures.
- Perplexity distributed free year-long premium subscriptions through Indian telecom Airtel, generating 56 million downloads over a seven-month promotional window
- Post-promotion user acquisitions fell 90%, but monthly active users stabilised around 14 million—five times the pre-offer baseline—with spending metrics remaining resilient
- The campaign demonstrated that subsidised AI access can build retained, revenue-generating user bases in high-population, price-sensitive markets