Google Partners with Reliance to Offer Free AI Pro Access to 500 Million Jio Users in India

Google partners with Ambani's Reliance to offer free AI Pro access to millions of Jio users in India | TechCrunch

In a push to expand its AI footprint in emerging markets, Google has partnered with billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries to bundle its AI Pro subscription with Jio 5G plans at no extra cost. On Thursday, Google announced a partnership with Reliance, India's largest company by market capitalization, to offer its AI Pro subscription free for 18 months to eligible Jio users. The alliance comes just three months after Perplexity teamed up with Reliance's arch-rival Bharti Airtel, India's second-largest telecom operator, to provide free access to Perplexity Pro for Airtel's 360 million subscribers. India, the world's most populous nation and the second-largest internet market with over a billion users, has long been an irresistible target for global tech firms. While the country has not yet seen a major homegrown AI breakthrough, U.S. tech giants increasingly view it as the next big frontier -- a place to gather diverse data, refine models, and test AI use cases that could later scale across other emerging markets. The latest partnership between Google and Reliance is a clear reflection of that strategy. The Jio offer will initially reach users aged 18 to 25 before expanding to all Jio subscribers nationwide, the companies said. It includes access to Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro model via the Gemini app, higher limits for generating AI images and videos with Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, expanded use of Notebook LM for study and research, and 2 TB of cloud storage across Google Photos, Gmail, Drive, and WhatsApp backups. "This partnership will also explore bringing more delightful local experiences powered by AI to Jio users," the Indian telecom giant said. The 18-month offer is valued at ₹35,100 (about $396), the companies said. Google's AI Pro plan normally costs ₹1,950 (around $22) per month in India and includes a free one-month trial. Beyond the consumer offer, Reliance also partnered with Google Cloud to broaden access to its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in India. Reliance's AI subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence, will become a strategic go-to-market partner for Google Cloud to expand Gemini Enterprise across Indian organizations, and will develop its own pre-built AI agents for the platform. "Today's announcement will put Google's cutting-edge AI tools in the hands of consumers, businesses, and India's vibrant developer community," Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a prepared statement. At its 48th annual general meeting in late August, Reliance announced partnerships with its investors Google and Meta to strengthen its AI infrastructure in India through a newly created subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Reliance and Meta also committed to setting up a joint venture with a combined investment of ₹8.55 billion (approximately $100 million), with a 70/30 ownership split. Earlier this week, Google rival OpenAI announced plans to offer free access to its sub-$5 ChatGPT Go plan to all users in India starting November 4. The entry-level tier, launched locally in August, has since expanded to 17 countries across Asia. AI heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic are also setting up shop in India, hoping to learn more about local users and grow their reach in the world's biggest emerging market. Earlier this year, Google offered Indian students a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan. That promotion ran until September 15. India has already helped drive adoption of U.S.-led AI platforms and ranks among the top consumer markets for tools such as Google's Nano Banana, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Anthropic's Claude. Extending free access to paid AI versions could further accelerate adoption and cement India's position as a key growth consumer market for generative AI offerings. However, it remains to be seen how India will translate into meaningful revenue for these AI companies once the current wave of free bundling offers runs its course. "Through our collaboration with strategic and long-term partners like Google, we aim to make India not just AI-enabled but AI-empowered - where every citizen and enterprise can harness intelligent tools to create, innovate and grow," Ambani said.

Free AI in India? Google, OpenAI and Perplexity are betting your curiosity will train their machines

Indian visitors talk on their mobile phones outside the Google stall at the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi on Sept. 27, 2017. Artificial intelligence companies racing to expand in India are not just chasing customers -- they are enlisting millions of users to help train AI models for the world. Google and Perplexity AI are offering their services free for 12 to 18 months through partnerships with local telecom providers Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, while OpenAI has made its ChatGPT Go plan free nationwide for one year. "India stands at the intersection of youth, digital fluency and rapid AI adoption," said Sharmila Senthilraja, VP and industry platform leader at Capgemini India. Low internet costs and a strong digital foundation have enabled consumers aged 18 to 35 to experiment freely with emerging technologies, Senthilraja said. Half of India's internet users report using some form of AI, she added. India has one of the highest smartphone and internet penetration rates in the world. "With over 700 million internet users and widespread smartphone penetration, India generates massive volumes of data, which is the fuel for training AI models," a Boston Consulting Group report said in June. The country's AI market is projected to exceed $17 billion by 2027, making it one of the fastest-growing in the world, BCG added.

Google brings free Gemini access to India's largest carrier

The world's most populated country is emerging as a key focus area in the AI race. Google's AI ambitions are global in scale, so much so that it has just agreed to give Gemini away for free in India to people using the country's biggest mobile provider. Thanks to a deal with Reliance Intelligence, an AI-focused subsidiary of Reliance Industries, people signed up to Jio's Unlimited 5G plan will be offered Google AI Pro at no extra cost for 18 months. That means that qualifying users will have access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google's most AI model. They will also benefit from higher limits for the Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 AI image and video generators, plus expanded access to NotebookLM. The plan also includes 2TB of cloud storage across Google's apps, for a total combined worth of around 35,100 rupees ($396) per user. The offer will initially be exclusive to Jio customers between the age of 18 and 25, but will eventually extend to all people on an eligible plan via the MyJio app. Jio is India's largest mobile network operator, and a company in which Google a 7.7 percent stake worth $4.5 million in 2020. India is fast becoming a key battleground for AI expansion. Back in July, Perplexity AI with Bharti Airtel, Jio's rival carrier, to offer a year-long Perplexity Pro subscription worth $200 to all of Airtel's 360 million customers. OpenAI is also adopting an aggressive strategy in the country, recently its cheapest ChatGPT subscription to date, at 390 rupee ($4.60), in India first. ChatGPT Go offers users 10 times more message limits, image generation and file uploads than the free version.

Google to offer Gemini AI for free to over 500 million Jio users as global firms double down on India

Google will offer its Gemini AI service for free to over 500 million Reliance Jio users in India, as global artificial intelligence firms double down on acquiring customers in the country. The U.S. tech giant revealed Thursday that it had signed a pact with Reliance Intelligence, a joint venture between Reliance Industries and Meta, to provide Google's AI Pro plan, which includes Gemini 2.5 Pro, expanded access to NotebookLM for study and research, and 2 TB of cloud storage, among other things. Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said his firm aims to make India "AI-empowered" through collaborations with strategic and long-term partners such as Google. Reliance Jio is India's largest telecom services operator. Google services, worth 35,100 rupees per user ($396), will have a staggered roll out with early access for 18- to 25-year-old users on unlimited Jio 5G plans for for 18 months. Eventually they will be made available for free to the company's entire customer base. "I'm excited for how this partnership will help expand access to AI across India," said Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google and Alphabet. There are about 377 million Gen Zs in India, driving $860 billion in consumer spending in the country, and that is set to rise to $2 trillion by 2035, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. India has the highest number of users globally across social media platforms such as Facebook (350 million-plus), Instagram (413.8 million), video app YouTube (over 467 million) while messaging app WhatsApp has over 500 million users, making it a key market for digital services. In July, the second largest Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel partnered with Perplexity to offer its 360 million customers free access to Perplexity Pro, which is priced at $200 per year globally. Airtel and Perplexity followed this up with intensive campaigns on social media platforms, enlisting leading Indian influencers who posted reels promoting the use-cases for the free AI tool. Indian telecom market is dominated by Jio and Airtel and partnerships with these telecom operators offer the opportunity for companies to expand the reach of apps and digital tools, making them available to a mass audience. On Tuesday, OpenAI reportedly said it would make its ChatGPT Go plan free for users in India for a year, starting Nov. 4. The offer was launched in August for 399 rupees per month, and was among the most affordable subscription plans from OpenAI. The company is rapidly expanding its presence in India, its second largest market, and plans to set up a 1 gigawatt data center in the country.

Partnering with Reliance to bring the best of Google AI to more people across India

Today we announced a strategic partnership with Reliance Intelligence to offer Google's AI Pro plan, and with it the latest version of Google Gemini, to Jio Unlimited 5G plan users at no extra cost for 18 months. This offer will begin rolling out to users between 18 to 25 years of age, and will soon extend to include every eligible Jio user nationwide. Eligible Jio customers will gain higher access to our most capable Gemini 2.5 Pro model in the Gemini app, higher limits to generate stunning images and videos with our state-of-the-art Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 models, expanded access to NotebookLM for study and research, 2 TB of cloud storage across Google Photos, Gmail, Drive and for backing up WhatsApp chats (on Android) and more - a combined value of approximately ₹35,100. Eligible Jio users can activate this offer via the MyJio app. We are excited to expand access to our most powerful AI models to more people across India, and can't wait to see how our world-class tools deliver powerful benefits in people's everyday lives.

Google to Give Reliance Jio Users Gemini Pro Access Worth ₹35,100 for Free | AIM

The offer will first roll out to users aged 18 to 25, before expanding to all eligible Jio subscribers nationwide. Google has announced a strategic partnership with Reliance Intelligence to offer its AI Pro plan, including the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro model, to Jio Unlimited 5G users at no extra cost for 18 months. The initiative aims to expand access to advanced AI tools for millions of users across India. The offer will first roll out to users aged 18 to 25, before expanding to all eligible Jio subscribers nationwide. Users can activate the plan directly through the MyJio app. As part of the offer, Jio customers will gain access to Google's most capable Gemini 2.5 Pro model via the Gemini app, along with higher limits for generating images and videos using Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 models. It will also include expanded access to NotebookLM for study and research, and 2 TB of cloud storage across Google Photos, Gmail, and Drive, along with WhatsApp chat backup for Android users. Together, these benefits are valued at approximately ₹35,100. The company said the collaboration is aimed at delivering "powerful benefits in people's everyday lives" by expanding access to the company's most advanced AI models. This marks another major AI subscription offer for Indian telecom users this year. In July, Airtel began offering a free one-year Perplexity Pro plan worth ₹17,000 through its Airtel Thanks app. OpenAI is also offering all Indian users one year of free access to ChatGPT Go starting November 4, as part of its India-focused expansion and ahead of its first DevDay Exchange event in Bengaluru. This move signals growing competition among telecom providers to bundle premium AI products into their mobile plans, a trend now continued by Google and Reliance with Gemini Pro.

How to Claim 18 Months of Free Google AI Pro Access on the MyJio App

The plan offers access to the Veo 3.1 Fast video generation model Reliance and Google's partnership is going to bring Jio users benefits worth Rs. 35,100. Announced on Thursday, the two companies are coming together to offer 18 months of free access to the Google AI Pro subscription. This means these users will be able to access premium artificial intelligence (AI) models, including the company's latest image generation and video generation models. However, not everyone will be able to avail this big offer, as there are certain eligibility criteria. Let us take a detailed look at this Reliance-Google deal. What are the Google AI Pro Subscription's Benefits Once you activate the Google AI Pro plan, which costs Rs. 1,950 a month normally, you can get higher access to Gemini 2.5 Pro. Additionally, you will also get to use AI models such as Deep Research on 2.5 Pro, which is not available on the free tier. However, the biggest attraction is access to Veo 3.1 Fast. Veo 3.1 Fast is Google's part of the frontier video generation model family, which lets you type a text description and generate a video with native audio enabled. The coders can take advantage of higher daily request limits in the Gemini command line interface (CLI) and Gemini Code Assist IDE extensions. The subscription also adds the Gemini sidebar to Google Workspace apps, such as Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and more. When working on these platforms, users will be able to use Gemini for a wide range of tasks. Additionally, it also brings perks such as higher access to NotebookLM, the AI filmmaking tool Flow, and the image-to-video generation platform Whisk. And of course, for the duration of the subscription, users also get access to 2TB of storage across Drive, Gmail, and Photos. Google AI Pro Free Subscription Reliance said that the offer will initially be available to users aged 18 to 25 who have recharged with an unlimited 5G plan. However, the company plans to expand the offer to include all Jio users across the country in the coming weeks. Notably, in July, the Mountain View-based tech giant offered access to the same plan for 12 months, but it was limited to eligible college and university students only. How to Activate Free Google AI Pro Access for 18 Months FAQ: Jio Google AI Pro Offer Can I get this offer if I'm not on a 5G plan? No. To access the offer, you need to have an active unlimited 5G plan. Is this better than the Airtel Perplexity Pro offer? Airtel's Perplexity Pro offer is available for 12 months, while Google's plan is available for 18 months. Google's plan also offers a wider range of services. What if I'm a Jio user but not 18-25 years old? Then you will have to wait for a little longer. Reliance has said that it will bring the offer to all Jio users shortly.

India emerges as OpenAI's second-largest market: CTO Srinivas Narayanan

India is OpenAI's second largest market in terms of users, fastest growing and among the top five in terms of developer usage, and the company is now building products in the country, which can be replicated and scaled up globally, Srinivas Narayanan, global chief technology officer, B2B applications of OpenAI told ET in an interview. "I think India is leading in many ways on what is possible with AI." He explained that as a country with a diverse set of use cases, and many different needs, the company is exploring ways to partner with the locals and create a playbook that can be applied more broadly in global markets as well. "We are also announcing a very culturally and historically focused data set called IndQA. We want that to be a playbook for how we replicate this for all over the world," he said. IndQA is a new benchmark to evaluate how AI models are good at Indian languages and developed in partnership with 250 experts across 12 languages. OpenAI, which burst onto the global scene in November of 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT is valued at $500 billion and has been leading multi-billion deals with the likes of Nvidia, AMD, Oracle, AWS among others. Answering questions on return of investments on the massive investments going in AI and worry of a bubble building up, Narayanan said AI will hopefully drive the biggest economic growth, "We are in the very early stages of probably the most important technological revolution of our lifetimes, I think talks of RoI and bubbles are just too early. Just look at the last few years and how much AI has delivered value, how fast these products have grown. Everything is unprecedented. And so that shows you the promise." The race for supremacy in the AI world has led to a massive talent war with rivals such as Meta offering $100 million pay packages to AI engineers. Narayanan said that it is highly competitive and finding the best talent is a challenge. The company, which announced an India office August is also looking to put together a team in India, however it will be a lean team to start with. After reports that OpenAI is planning to go public with a $1 trillion valuation in 2026, Narayanan said that they "have nothing to share" and it has recently announced a recapitalization of OpenAI, which was originally founded as a non-profit entity in 2015. After an agressive bid to woo Indian consumers with competitive and free offerings, OpenAI is also also narrowing its focus to increase its enterprise play which includes startups. Srinivas said that it is a huge opportunity for the company. "We have models that are winning Math Olympiads and coding competitions. They are at the forefront of intellectual abilities," he said. However, there is a gap as businesses haven't completely transformed. "I think there are some interesting opportunities and challenges for us to solve through partnerships with businesses," he said. This comes as amid intense competition from the likes Anthropic and Google, which are upping their enterprise AI play. According to a recent report from Menlo Ventures, OpenAI's API market share in the enterprise segment has come down from 50% in 2023 to 25% as of July, with Anthropic and Google gaining. While he did not comment on the numbers, Narayanan said that they have seen tremendous growth in API use over the past year, with about five million people developing on the platform. "Competition, of course, is going to be there. It just tells you that this is a massive opportunity for everybody. There are other companies innovating like we are and that is a good thing," he said. The advent of large language models and coding tools such as Codex are also challenging business models for large software services companies. Narayanan explained that there will be shifts in jobs and what it means to be an engineer will fundamentally change. "Everybody has to go from being an engineer to being a CEO. What that means is that you have to think less about how you do something, because AI is helping you with how to do it. You can dream bigger about what you want to do and what you want to accomplish," he highlighted. OpenAI's key focus also includes creating an infrastructure for India, both for the local usage, and also for hosting applications in the country that can be used worldwide. "AI is going to need a lot of infrastructure. We've announced lots of partnerships with Nvidia and AMD and we are always looking to partner with them," he said without sharing specifics.

Jio Just Killed the Competition with AI Offer

The market anticipated that Jio will now offer something in partnership with OpenAI. Reliance Industries has once again made a strong move to compete with Airtel for its AI (artificial intelligence) offer. Airtel, earlier this year, partnered with Perplexity to offer Perplexity Pro subscription to its users for 12 months. The market anticipated that Jio will now offer something in partnership with OpenAI. However, that's not what happened. Reliance Intelligence Limited partnered with Google to offer free access to Gemini 2.5 Pro subscription to eligible Jio users. Read More - What are JioTV Premium Prepaid Packs The Gemini 2.5 Pro subscription can be accessed through the MyJio app by the eligible users. So who is eligible? Any Jio user who is currently aged between 18-25 and is on the unlimited 5G plan, is eligible for the offer right now. They can just go to the MyJio app and check if the banner of the app is available. If it is available, then you will be able to get the offer. Very soon, the offer will expand to more eligible Jio users. Read More - Vodafone Idea Limited Shares Fall on Thursday, Here's Why The Gemini 2.5 Pro subscription costs Rs 1,950 per month. Here, the Jio offer is there for 18 months. This means a total value of Rs 35,100. The Gemini 2.5 Pro access comes with higher limits to generate stunning images and videos with their state-of-the-art Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 moddels, expanded access to Notebook LM for study and research, 2TB of cloud storage from Google, and more. It is worth noting that OpenAI also recently announced that Indian customers can get the ChatGPT Go subscription worth Rs 399 per month absolutely free for a year starting November 4, 2025. Google and Perplexity have partnered with the telcos to get a deeper reach in the market, while OpenAI has gone solo to attract the Indian consumers.

Everywhere all at once makes India a safe AI bet

While India isn't a leader in AI hardware, it's poised to be a major user. Tech giants are offering free AI access to millions of Indians, betting on their rapid adoption. This could revolutionize productivity for the vast informal workforce, potentially boosting the economy significantly. Everyone is looking for the next big AI bet. They're searching for energy-rich places that can run data centers cheaply, for bottlenecks in the semiconductor supply chain that will earn massive profits, or for companies that might own the next breakout algorithm. Usually, India doesn't feature in these conversations. It isn't going to be a chipmaking superpower any time soon. And, although a couple of big data-center projects have been announced, high energy costs and land scarcity limit its ambitions. And yet India may be the biggest, safest bet in the age of artificial intelligence. Not because it will build the models, but because it will use them. Also Read: Amazon's layoffs show how AI is coming for India The large language models players already suspect this. In recent months, three companies have rolled out free access to their paid tiers exclusively in India. OpenAI Inc.'s lightweight ChatGPT Go plan will be available at no cost to Indians for a year; Alphabet Inc.'s Gemini Pro will be provided to every single one of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.'s 505 million subscribers for 18 months; and Perplexity AI Inc. will offer its Pro version to Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s 350 million users. That two of the three are going with telecom providers is partly to build scale. Nobody gives you numbers like India does. And young Indians are particularly ferocious adopters of technology. The telcos, for their part, are always looking for products to bundle with their subscription plans. But some analysts have pointed out that it's different this time: Instead of an entertainment package, they're selling their AI add-ons as a utility. Also Read: AI-focused roles lead new tech hirings in India We are on the cusp of a planetary-scale social experiment: What happens when you push free, unlimited, cutting-edge AI onto a billion-plus peoples' phones? Indian officials know what answer they're hoping for. This might be how the country finally breaks out of the low-skill, low-productivity equilibrium it has been trapped in. Growth numbers look impressive. But they're driven by a few high-output sectors; the vast majority of people work for themselves or for informal enterprises, and according to the International Labor Organization are only half as productive as the average. Last month, the government think tank NITI Aayog argued in an AI-focused report that it could triple the productivity of India's informal workers in the next decade, taking it from $5 an hour to $15 an hour. The officials said that their calculations showed widespread adoption would add between $500 billion and $600 billion to India's output by 2035. New Delhi is an upbeat town, and this figure is almost certainly exaggerated by the most flattering possible assumptions. The brutal fact is that every other attempt to give India's hundreds of millions of young people the skills they need to compete has failed. And, as my colleague Andy Mukherjee has argued, entry-level white-collar jobs are as much at risk in India as they are anywhere else. Also Read: How AI is tilting India's IT balance But official optimism about this technological transformation isn't entirely unfounded. Youths here are not just enthusiastic about tech, they are unusually verbal users. The reason why almost every explainer on YouTube is made by and for Indians is because many of us search for answers on video sites first. This sort of curiosity is almost designed for an era defined by language models that let you talk your way into competence. The one thing that we know about LLMs is that they seem to flatten the skill curve. Someone who has never coded a line of Python can suddenly create halfway-decent websites, and her friend without any experience of this country's Byzantine regulatory environment can suddenly navigate opaque government forms. Some of this is already visible online. Look at X, for example. ChatGPT's characteristic syntax of LLMs is identifiable in tens of thousands of blue-tick accounts from India. And those posts are getting the engagement they crave, nevertheless. It's irritating. It's depressing, even. But it's working. A similar dynamic will play out in the real world. Indians will break down instructions they earlier couldn't understand. They will teach themselves new systems step by step, transcending their flawed educational and skilling system. Speakers of Hindi or Marathi will see their horizons expand now that they're able to navigate different languages in a multilingual society and world. They will be able to provide services that cross deep cultural divides. What OpenAI and the others seem to have realized is that there's more than one way for a country to provide AI infrastructure. Data centers, power plants, semiconductor fabs -- sure. But the last and most essential ingredient is people. And people India has. That's why the biggest AI play in the world might be India itself -- not as a chipmaker or algorithm owner, but as everything else. Not in any one sector, but in all of them. If language models really lower the barrier to achieving competence, if they really work as enablers for the unskilled and disconnected, then this country's hundreds of millions of underperforming workers become the world's most consequential growth story. India's government has failed to empower its people. It has failed to grant them skills. Perhaps it's time to let the LLMs try.

Reliance and Google Partner to Accelerate AI Adoption for Consumers and Businesses in India

Enterprise push: Gemini Enterprise to empower Indian businesses with next-generation AI agents. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), through its subsidiary Reliance Intelligence Limited, has announced a strategic partnership with Google to provide free access to Google Gemini AI Pro for Jio's young subscribers. The initiative, unveiled on October 30, 2025, marks a major step in Jio's efforts to democratise artificial intelligence for millions of Indians. Also Read: Reliance Intelligence, Meta Form JV for Enterprise AI Services with Initial Investment of Rs 855 Crore A "strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across India -- empowering consumers, enterprises, and developers in line with Reliance's AI for All vision," Reliance said in a joint statement on Thursday. "This collaboration brings together Reliance's unmatched scale, connectivity, and ecosystem reach with Google's world-class AI technology. Together, these initiatives are aimed at democratizing AI access and strengthening the digital foundation for India's AI-driven future." RIL added, "This Diwali, Jio is furthering its commitment to democratise cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence for 500 million Indians, starting with the Jio youth, as a first step. This exclusive, limited-time offer is an unprecedented value unlock for Jio's most dynamic user segment, providing them with a 18-month subscription to Google's premium AI services." Under this offer, Jio users aged 18 to 25 years (early access) with active 5G Unlimited Plans -- both prepaid and postpaid starting from Rs 349 -- will receive complimentary access to Gemini AI Pro worth Rs 35,100 for 18 months. The subscription can be activated through the MyJio app by clicking on the "Claim Now" banner. The offer goes live on October 30, 2025. RIL stated, "Reflecting Jio's commitment to empowering India's youth, the rollout will commence with early access for 18- to 25-year-old users on unlimited 5G plans and will swiftly expand to include every Jio customer nationwide in the shortest time possible." "This partnership will also explore bringing more delightful local experiences powered by AI to Jio users, catering to India's rich cultural and linguistic diversity." Gemini AI Pro users will gain access to Google's most advanced AI capabilities, including the Gemini 2.5 Pro model with Deep Research and limited video generation via Veo 3 Fast. The subscription also includes enhanced image generation through Nano Banana, 2 TB of cloud storage across Photos, Drive and Gmail, and upgraded access to AI tools such as Flow, Whisk, Gemini Code Assist, Gemini CLI and NotebookLM. Additionally, Gemini features will be integrated into Gmail, Docs and Vids, expanding productivity and creativity options for users. The service is designed to activate once and remain free for 18 months, provided users stay on an eligible Jio 5G plan. Existing Gemini Pro subscribers will have the option to switch to the free "Google AI Pro - Powered by Jio" plan upon the expiry of their current paid subscription. Jio said under the Free Gemini AI Pro Initiative, it is targeting the future. "The offer (early access) is specifically crafted for the Youth Segment (KyC Age up to 25 years) on the Jio network, ensuring the nation's future leaders have access to advanced digital tools." In line with its vision of building multi-GW, clean energy-powered, state-of-the-art sovereign compute capabilities, Reliance announced a partnership with Google Cloud to broaden access to its advanced AI hardware accelerators, Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). "This will enable more organisations to train and deploy larger, more complex AI models, as well as deliver faster inferencing to help execute highly demanding projects and accelerate AI adoption across the broader India AI ecosystem." RIL added, "It will also strengthen India's national AI backbone, supporting the vision articulated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister to make India a global AI powerhouse." This expanded collaboration also establishes Reliance Intelligence as a strategic go-to-market partner for Google Cloud, driving the adoption of Gemini Enterprise across Indian organisations. "Gemini Enterprise is a next-generation, unified agentic AI platform for businesses that brings the best of Google AI to every employee, for every workflow. It empowers teams to discover, create, share, and run AI agents -- all in one secure environment," Reliance said. Reliance Intelligence will also develop and offer its own pre-built enterprise AI agents in Gemini Enterprise, expanding the available choice of both Google-built and third-party agents to users. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited, said, "Reliance Intelligence aims to make intelligence services accessible to 1.45 billion Indians. Through our collaboration with strategic and long-term partners like Google, we aim to make India not just AI-enabled but AI-empowered - where every citizen and enterprise can harness intelligent tools to create, innovate and grow." Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said, "Reliance is a longstanding partner in Google's goal of advancing India's digital future - together we've brought affordable internet access and smartphones to millions. Now, we are bringing this collaboration into the AI era. Today's announcement will put Google's cutting-edge AI tools in the hands of consumers, businesses, and India's vibrant developer community. I'm excited for how this partnership will help expand access to AI across India."

Jio Youth offer: Eligible users get 18 months free Gemini AI Pro subscription

Reliance Jio has officially partnered with Google to launch an incredible offer, providing the Google Gemini AI Pro Plan to millions of young users at absolutely no extra cost for 18 months. This move, aimed at empowering India's youth, makes Google's most advanced artificial intelligence tools accessible for free. The Gemini AI Pro Plan, which carries a combined value of approximately Rs. 35,100 over the 18-month period, will initially be rolled out to a specific user base (18 to 25 years) before expanding nationwide. This comes after Airtel partnered with Perplexity earlier this year to offer a 1-year free Perplexity Pro subscription. This strategic partnership is designed to equip students, researchers, and young professionals with cutting-edge tools. The Gemini AI Pro Plan offers a comprehensive suite of premium features: Advanced AI Content Generation: Utilize powerful models for creating media, including:

Reliance, Airtel are handing out brains for free, for a bigger purpose

Welcome to India's exciting chapter of 'free AI', where telecom powerhouses like Reliance Jio and Airtel are integrating state-of-the-art AI tools with their mobile subscriptions. This groundbreaking shift levels the playing field, granting millions access to advanced intelligence resources. When Facebook tried to bring India online a decade ago, it did so through Reliance. In 2015, the social media giant (now Meta) partnered with Reliance Communications to launch Free Basics, a programme that offered free access to a limited set of internet services, most of which were owned or curated by Facebook. It didn't last long. A year later, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) banned differential pricing for data services, effectively killing Free Basics and reinforcing India's commitment to net neutrality, the idea that telecom companies can't privilege one service over another. But the partnership set the tone for a deeper playbook, one where telecom operators became the distribution layer for global tech companies, giving them instant reach into hundreds of millions of users. Fast forward to 2025, and Reliance is once again at the centre of a global tech alliance. This time, with Google's Gemini. On October 30, Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio announced that it would offer a year of Google's AI Pro plan with the latest version of Google Gemini to its 505 million users, a plan that otherwise costs Rs 35,100 ($399). The rollout will start with 18-25-year-old users on the Jio Unlimited 5G plan and soon expand nationwide, the company said. For Google, India is both a testing ground and a market-in-the-making. For Jio, it's a chance to add another layer of value to its massive user base, a digital continuation of what it began with cheap 4G and then 5G data. Also Read: Jio is offering Google Gemini Offer worth Rs 35,000: Check how to avail the offer, who are eligible Reliance and Google aren't alone. In the past few months, AI (artificial intelligence) companies have been lining up to tie up with India's biggest telecoms and institutions to capture what has become the world's most important emerging market for AI adoption. OpenAI, earlier this week, said that it will make ChatGPT Go -- its India-specific subscription tier priced at Rs 399 per month -- free for all Indian users for a year, starting November 4. The company says India is its second-largest and fastest-growing market outside the US. In July, Airtel partnered with San Francisco-based AI startup Perplexity to give its 360 million subscribers a free 18-month Pro subscription, typically priced at Rs 17,000 per year. OpenAI has also signed a deal with India's Ministry of Education and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to distribute 5 lakh ChatGPT licenses to teachers and students nationwide. Google, meanwhile, has been offering Gemini Pro free for a year to students in India. According to a July 2025 Business Insider report citing JPMorgan, ChatGPT has seen faster download growth in India than in most other regions, boosted by viral use cases like AI-generated Studio Ghibli-style images. This surge helped OpenAI expand its market share at the expense of rivals -- Google's Gemini, for instance, saw a roughly 6% decline in total download share in India during the same period. By partnering with telecom operators, players like Google and Perplexity now have a chance to reach nearly 80% of India's internet users -- and perhaps catch up with ChatGPT's runaway growth in the country. This flurry of partnerships echoes what Business Insider described as a continuation of the "next billion users" strategy once used by Google, Meta, and Amazon to win over new Indian internet users through free access, subsidised smartphones, and data-light apps. Also Read: Airtel-Perplexity deal gives the AI giant an entry into India marketAccording to the Ministry of Communications, India has over a billion internet users as of June 2025. That makes it one of the largest connected populations outside China and an irresistible testbed for global AI models that need scale to improve. "The reasons Big Tech runs toward India haven't changed," The Ken observed recently. "It offers companies the opportunity to roll out products and services at scale and to conduct the largest data collection exercise in modern history." India's linguistic diversity, low-cost smartphone penetration, and increasingly AI-curious consumer base make it ideal for stress-testing generative AI systems. From localised chatbots to Hindi voice assistants, AI companies see India as a training ground for global products and as the next big market for premium AI subscriptions. The push into AI also comes at a time when telecom growth is flattening. Reliance Jio reported an average revenue per user (ARPU) of ₹211.40 for the July-September 2025 quarter, an 8.4% rise from Rs 195.1 in the year-earlier period. Airtel's ARPU grew 2.1% sequentially to ₹250 in the June 2025 quarter, the highest in the sector, compared to Jio's ₹208.8 in the same period. With data tariffs stabilising and subscriber additions slowing, telecoms are now looking to AI partnerships as the next big driver of growth. Not just in user engagement, but in monetisation potential. Telecom operators are emerging as crucial middlemen in this ecosystem -- the pipes, platforms, and partners that make AI accessible to hundreds of millions. The idea is simple: use bundling to hook users early. Just as telecoms bundle OTT streaming services like Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar with mobile data packs, they're now doing the same with AI tools. Over the next three years, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are expected to deliver strong earnings growth and higher returns for shareholders. Also Read: Bharti Airtel Q2 Preview: PAT may jump 64% on steady India, Africa performance According to an October 2025 note by ICICI Securities, the push for 5G is drawing in more premium users, while home broadband and enterprise services -- including cloud, AI, and cybersecurity -- are unlocking new revenue streams. The brokerage has pegged Jio's valuation at $148 billion by 2027. Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, currently holds a market cap of around $132 billion (at ₹2,029 a share) and has a target price of ₹2,400, according to ICICI Securities. "Globally, the industry is witnessing sluggish revenue growth, around 2-3% in mature markets and 5-7% in emerging ones," Aditya Khaitan, Partner, Deloitte India, told ET Online. He said the telecom sector's transformation is "further marred by high customer churn, with roughly one-third of subscribers moving between service providers annually." As telcos embark on AI- and data-led overhauls, he added, enhancing customer value and experience remains key. "AI-driven analytics is enabling precise customer segmentation and targeting, identifying user behaviour and preferences with agility to offer hyper-personalised plans and content," Khaitan explained. According to him, various estimates point to a 10-30% improvement in conversion rates, about a 10% rise in ARPU, and up to a five-fold reduction in churn. Beyond customer engagement, he noted that leveraging AI and automation across telecom operations could reduce global operational costs by 10-12%, or roughly $150 billion, citing Deloitte's estimates. India's telecom giants aren't giving away AI out of generosity, but they're perhaps buying future revenue. By bundling access to generative-AI tools such as Perplexity Pro or Google's Gemini with their mobile plans, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are turning data into a value-added service that can be tiered and priced later. Who knows, the aim may likely be to hook millions on AI through free trials today, then monetise that habit through premium plans or usage-based upgrades. Crisil expects telecom operating profits to rise 12-14% in FY26, driven by rising data use and improving average revenue per user (ARPU). Free AI is part of that premiumisation play, helping telcos push higher-priced plans and deepen engagement across their digital ecosystems. The need to lift ARPU has been repeatedly flagged by the GSMA, which says India's operators must raise earnings to justify their massive 5G investments. Bundled AI gives them a way to do that -- creating stickier customers and richer data trails -- even as it raises costs around compute, localisation and compliance. AI access layer refers to the interface through which users reach generative-AI tools, whether chatbots, voice assistants, search engines or content generators -- now bundled within their mobile plans. Whoever owns this access point owns the experience, the data, and ultimately, the money. For India's telecom players, the goal is likely to move to becoming intelligent gateways that curate how users interact with AI. By embedding AI tools directly into plans, telecom companies can control not just data traffic but the digital behaviour around it -- which apps are opened, which assistants are used, what users search for and how much they pay to do it. This access layer could define who captures India's next wave of digital revenue. If telecom companies succeed, they'll sit at the nerve centre of a new AI economy, where user engagement can be monetised across search, ads, and cloud services. If they fail, Big Tech firms -- OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic -- will own the direct user relationship, leaving telcos once again commoditised and dependent on volume-based data plans. Also Read: Race to control the next era of the internet: The fight for your digital front door has begun For global AI firms, India is both a proving ground and a pipeline. OpenAI and Anthropic already count India as their second-largest user base globally. The massive influx of free users allows these models to improve, adapt to diverse linguistic inputs, and identify new use cases -- from education and finance to small business productivity. At the same time, these partnerships fit neatly into India's Digital India and AI for All narratives. By aligning with the government's digital education initiatives, companies like OpenAI can position themselves not as foreign disruptors but as collaborators in nation-building. These partnerships that make some of the best available AI assistants accessible to Indians for a fraction of the cost are hardly another business alliance. They symbolise the start of India's "free AI" era. The first wave, Free Basics, tried to democratise Internet access. The second, the 5G rollout, democratised connectivity. Now, the third wave seeks to democratise intelligence itself, by embedding AI into the everyday experiences of a billion users. The question, as it was a decade ago, remains the same: when technology is free, who truly benefits -- the user, the telecom operator, or the company training its next generation of models on a billion Indian voices?

Google-Reliance Jio Tie-Up Offers Free AI Pro Plan for 18 Months

Google has announced a strategic partnership with Reliance Intelligence to offer its premium AI Pro subscription plan to Jio users for free for 18 months. The plan bundles Google's most advanced AI models, such as Gemini 2.5 Pro, along with 2 TB of cloud storage. The offer will initially roll out to Jio Unlimited 5G users aged 18-25 before expanding nationwide. The timing of this announcement comes just a day after OpenAI made its ChatGPT Go plan free in India, and shortly after Perplexity's partnership with Airtel in July. These developments point to a race among major AI players to broaden their Indian user base through bundled telco partnerships. In a blog post published on October 30, Google announced a "strategic partnership with Reliance Intelligence to offer Google's AI Pro plan." The plan, valued at approximately Rs 35,100, will be offered at no extra cost for 18 months. Users aged 18-25 with the Jio Unlimited 5G plan can avail of this offer via the MyJio app. Users will get the following services for free: Google's announcement comes amid strategic plays by major AI companies to capture the Indian market: The Google-Jio partnership highlights how telcos are becoming key distribution channels in India's vast market. Google gains access to the country's largest subscriber base through Jio, while Perplexity has adopted a similar partnership-driven approach. In contrast, OpenAI continues to pursue a direct-to-consumer model. All these companies appear to be following a "scale first, monetise later" strategy, as noted by MediaNama founder Nikhil Pahwa. This is reminiscent of Jio's own early strategy of market capture by offering free services, a move that helped solidify its current market dominance. Google's scaling efforts are evident in the breadth of its offer, which bundles free access to Gemini AI Pro with 2 TB of cloud storage. After 18 months of backing up photos, videos, and documents, users are likely to remain within the Google Cloud ecosystem. This can effectively turn a free AI trial into a powerful customer retention tool. The bundling of storage, AI models, and research tools demonstrates how Google is leveraging its entire ecosystem against its competitors. While Perplexity had the first-mover advantage by partnering with Airtel, the question now is: Will OpenAI, as the market leader, stick to its direct-to-consumer strategy, or will it be compelled to find a telco partner to stay in the race?

Reliance enters free AI race with Google; Jio users to get ₹35,100 AI Pro access

Reliance and Google are joining forces to provide free access to advanced AI tools for millions of Jio customers. Eligible Jio users will soon receive an 18-month subscription to Google's AI Pro plan. This initiative aims to make powerful AI accessible to every Indian household and enterprise, empowering innovation and growth across the nation. Reliance Industries and Google on Thursday announced that the two companies have joined hands to offer free access to premium AI tools for millions of Jio users, marking one of the largest consumer-focused AI rollouts in the country. The move comes months after Airtel offered Perplexity Pro for free to its customers for one year, and OpenAI is set to begin rolling out complimentary access to its ChatGPT Go Pro plan in India. Starting soon, eligible Jio users can activate an 18-month Google AI Pro subscription, valued at ₹35,100 per user, directly through the MyJio app. The plan includes Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro model, image and video generators Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, access to Notebook LM, and 2 TB of cloud storage. The rollout will begin with users aged 18 to 25 on unlimited 5G plans before expanding nationwide. The collaboration between Reliance Intelligence and Google aims to make AI tools accessible to every Indian household, RIL said. Beyond individual users, Reliance will also partner with Google Cloud to expand access to advanced AI hardware accelerators, known as TPUs, allowing organizations to train and deploy large-scale AI models within India. Reliance Intelligence will further act as a go-to-market partner for Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise--an AI platform designed for businesses to build and run intelligent agents for daily operations. Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries said that Reliance Intelligence aims to make intelligence services accessible to 1.45 billion Indians. "Through our collaboration with strategic and long-term partners like Google, we aim to make India not just AI-enabled but AI-empowered -- where every citizen and enterprise can harness intelligent tools to create, innovate and grow." Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet noted Reliance to be a longstanding partner in Google's goal of advancing India's digital future. "...Together we've brought affordable internet access and smartphones to millions. Now, we are bringing this collaboration into the AI era." -Access to Gemini 2.5 Pro (Google's latest AI model) -Tools for AI image and video creation via Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 -2 TB cloud storage and expanded use of Notebook LM for study and research

Reliance Jio users to get Gemini AI Pro plan worth Rs 35,100 for free: Here's how

Google Cloud partners with Reliance Intelligence for enterprise AI expansion in India. Google and Reliance have joined forces to bring premium artificial intelligence tools to millions of Jio users for free. Under this partnership, users will get the Google AI Pro plan, powered by the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, offered free for 18 months to eligible Jio customers. Generally priced at Rs 35,100, this subscription offers enhanced capabilities for generating AI images and videos, alongside expanded storage and productivity tools. The offer is also available for enterprise users, as Google Cloud becomes Reliance Intelligence's go-to-market strategic partner. Here's all you need to know. Under this new collaboration, Reliance Jio users subscribed to Unlimited 5G plans will get complimentary access to Google's AI Pro plan within the Gemini app. Initially available to users aged 18-25, the plan will later expand to more subscribers. The Google AI Pro plan will offer full access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro AI model, along with higher limits for generating AI images via Nano Banana and AI videos using Veo 3.1. It also grants users "expanded access" to NotebookLM, Google's experimental AI research and note-generation tool. Eligible users will also receive 2TB of Google Cloud storage, seamlessly integrated with Google Photos, Drive, Gmail, and WhatsApp backup on Android. Users can avail this offer through the MyJio app. On the enterprise side, Google Cloud will serve as Reliance Intelligence's strategic AI infrastructure partner, enabling Indian companies to adopt Gemini Enterprise and deploy scalable, high-performance AI systems. Reliance's access to Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) will further accelerate local model training, helping businesses build more complex and capable AI applications domestically.