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Perplexity's AI subscription free promotion experiment with Indian telecom operator Airtel is beginning to show results. In July 2025, the two companies collaborated to provide 12 months of Perplexity Pro subscriptions free of charge to approximately 360 million Airtel users, a service typically valued at around $200. As the initial free period for the first batch of users gradually ends, the growth in Perplexity's user base and revenue in India has become an important case study for observing whether free AI acquisition can be converted into paid growth.
Sensor Tower data shows that in the first month of the promotion, Perplexity's downloads in India reached 5.9 million, a 625% increase from the previous month; over the 7 months since the offer was opened, total downloads were approximately 56 million, more than nine times higher than the same period previously. Its monthly active users grew continuously from 8.9 million in July and reached a peak of about 22 million in October.
As the free activity ended, downloads dropped to 3.3 million between February and July 2026, a decrease of more than 90% compared to the previous six months, but monthly active users remained around 14 million in July, more than five times the average level in the first half of 2026.
More notably, the revenue performance. Sensor Tower estimates that between February and mid-August 2026, Perplexity's in-app purchases and subscription revenue in India increased by about 60% compared to the promotional period; from July 18 to August 12, daily in-app purchase revenue increased by 9% compared to the previous 30 days, and was 27% higher than the average level in the first half of 2026. Appfigures data shows that its monthly net revenue in India increased from about $34,000 in January 2025 to $156,000 in July 2026, with expected revenue for the first seven months of 2026 reaching $878,000, representing a 16% year-over-year growth.
However, the data still cannot confirm that all the growth came from Airtel users converting to paying customers. Since Pro automatically renews by default, some revenue may come from users who did not cancel their subscriptions in time, and the brand exposure brought by the promotion may also attract non-participant users to pay. As more Airtel users reach the renewal stage, Perplexity's long-term conversion rate remains to be verified. Previously, OpenAI and Google also launched free or low-cost AI subscriptions in India, making India an important test market for AI companies to gain paid conversions through scale.