How Perplexity and Airtel Launched an Unusual Promotion
In mid-2025, the American AI-powered search engine decided to radically expand its presence in the Indian market. Perplexity teamed up with Airtel — the country's second-largest mobile operator — and offered the operator's customers free access to the premium Pro subscription for a full twelve months. Such a plan typically costs around $200 a year, making the offer exceptionally generous for a mass audience.
The catch was that the free period didn't start on the day the promotion was announced, but from the moment the subscription was activated. The company accepted new participants until January 16 of the following year, and the earliest users began losing their free status as early as July 2026. This setup created a long "tail" of activity: each new wave of activations stretched the effect many months into the future.
Explosive Growth: Numbers That Speak for Themselves
The effect of the collaboration exceeded even the boldest expectations. While Perplexity app downloads in India were at a modest level in June 2025, by July, right after the promotion launched, they hit 5.9 million — a 625% increase over the previous month. For comparison: over the entire first half of 2025, the app was downloaded just 5.4 million times, meaning one July alone saw more downloads than the previous six months combined.
Over the seven months that new user registration remained open, total installs reached 56 million — nine times more than during the comparable period before the promotion. Monthly active users (MAU) more than doubled in July to 8.9 million, and peaked at 22 million by October. Such growth rates made India one of the key markets for the American company.
After the Activation Window: A Decline, But Not a Collapse
As soon as the opportunity to activate the free subscription closed on January 16, the influx of new users dried up sharply. According to data from February through July, downloads totaled just 3.3 million — a 90% drop compared to the previous six months. However, researchers emphasize that activity among the existing audience remained fairly high. In July 2026, MAU still stood at around 14 million — 37% below the October peak, but five times higher than the average level of the first half of 2025 (roughly 2.6 million).
It appears the promotion didn't just attract casual users — it built a lasting base. Sensor Tower analyst Abe Yousef notes that engagement levels have held up, and Perplexity now has "significantly more" active users in India than before the partnership began. In other words, even after the free subscription giveaway ended, a substantial share of new customers stuck with the product.
Money and Conversion: How the Download Decline Affected Revenue
The sharp drop in installs didn't translate into falling revenue. On the contrary, Sensor Tower recorded Perplexity's revenue from in-app purchases and subscriptions in India growing by roughly 60% between February and mid-August compared to the period when the main wave of free activations was underway. Comparing average daily revenue from July 18 to August 12 against the previous 30 days, it was 9% higher, and compared to the average for the first half of 2026, it was already 27% higher.
The likely explanation is automatic subscription renewals. Many users who activated the free year forgot to turn off auto-pay, and when the renewal date arrived, they were simply charged. At the same time, Sensor Tower can't separate such "accidental" conversions from deliberate decisions to buy a subscription, nor can it single out among paying users specifically those who came through the Airtel program. Still, all signs point to the promotion being not just a way for Perplexity to grow its audience, but also an unexpected source of revenue.
It's also important that the growth was specific to Perplexity. According to Appfigures data, India saw no general surge in demand for all AI apps. In the week before the promotion launched, Perplexity averaged 11,200 downloads a day, and in the first week after launch — nearly 223,000 (a 20-fold increase). At the peak of activity, from mid-September to mid-October, that figure reached roughly 305,000 per day. For comparison, ChatGPT and Claude downloads over the same period showed no anomalous spikes, confirming the unique effect of the Airtel partnership.
Thus, the free-subscription story for Airtel customers turned out to be a successful marketing experiment for Perplexity. The company managed to attract tens of millions of new users, significantly boost its visibility in India, and even generate additional revenue through auto-renewals. One open question remains: how many of these users will stay with the service long-term, and what efforts will be needed to keep them engaged with paid features.
