Airtel Partners with Perplexity to Offer Free AI Pro Subscription to 360 Million Users

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Bharti Airtel announces a partnership with AI platform Perplexity, offering a free one-year Pro subscription worth ₹17,000 to all its 360 million users across mobile, Wi-Fi, and DTH services.

Airtel's Game-Changing AI Partnership

Bharti Airtel, one of India's leading telecom providers, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Perplexity, an AI-powered search and answer engine. This collaboration will offer a complimentary one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro, valued at ₹17,000 ($200), to all of Airtel's 360 million customers across mobile, Wi-Fi, and DTH services

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Source: NDTV Gadgets 360

Source: NDTV Gadgets 360

Perplexity Pro: Advanced AI at Users' Fingertips

Perplexity Pro is a premium AI platform that provides users with access to some of the most advanced language models in the world. Unlike traditional search engines, Perplexity delivers clear, concise, and verified answers in conversational language

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. The Pro subscription includes:

  1. Access to powerful AI models such as GPT-4.1, Claude 4.0, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Grok 4

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  2. Advanced search features, including 300 pro searches daily

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  3. File analysis and image generation capabilities
  4. Access to Perplexity Labs for generating reports, spreadsheets, and basic web apps

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How to Avail the Offer

Airtel users can easily activate the free subscription through the Airtel Thanks app:

  1. Log in to the Airtel Thanks app
  2. Navigate to the 'Rewards and OTTs' section
  3. Find the Perplexity Pro banner and tap "Proceed"
  4. Sign in to an existing Perplexity account or create a new one

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The subscription is tied to the user's Perplexity account, allowing access via mobile app or desktop interface, even when not connected to Airtel's network

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Strategic Move in a Competitive Market

Source: Digit

Source: Digit

This offering could be seen as a strategic move by Airtel to attract new sign-ups and slow subscriber erosion amid fierce competition with Mukesh Ambani's Jio. As of May 31, Airtel had approximately 390 million wireless users, compared to Jio's 472 million

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Implications for Various User Groups

The partnership aims to benefit a wide range of users:

  • Students can streamline academic research
  • Professionals can plan complex itineraries or manage projects more efficiently
  • Homemakers can access quick and reliable answers for daily decision-making

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Industry Perspective

Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, emphasized the partnership's focus on helping customers navigate emerging digital trends

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. Aravind Srinivas, Co-founder & CEO of Perplexity, highlighted the initiative's potential to make accurate, trustworthy, and professional-grade AI more accessible in India

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This collaboration marks Perplexity's first partnership with an Indian telecom company and reflects a growing trend in the Indian telecom space towards offering value-added services beyond data and entertainment

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