Perplexity Begins Paid Transition Trial After Partnership with Airtel

With the end of the free offering from Perplexity's Indian telecom partner, the paid transition of its AI subscription service is now under trial. Airtel announced that starting from July 17, 2025, it will provide Perplexity Pro for free to 360 million Indian customers for a period of 12 months. According to Airtel's terms, the billing period will run from July 17, 2025, to January 16, 2026, and existing users can continue to use Pro until their respective free periods expire. Perplexity's revenue in India reportedly increased by about 60% after the end of Airtel's free promotion, although this figure has not been confirmed by official sources. According to TechCrunch, India accounts for approximately 20% of global downloads of generative AI apps in 2025, but the revenue share from in-app purchases for AI apps is only about 1%. Perplexity saw a 600% increase in downloads in India in Q2 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching 2.8 million, and monthly active users also increased by 640%. Airtel is offering Perplexity Pro for free to its mobile, Wi-Fi, and DTH customers, with the condition that users must maintain an active Airtel line to access the free service. Payment method requirements have also been communicated, and the conditions for card registration and automatic renewal have divided user responses. Perplexity's challenge is to convert user growth into revenue.