TLDR: Bharti Airtel has announced a groundbreaking partnership with US-based AI search engine Perplexity AI, providing its 360 million customers with a complimentary 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro, valued at INR 17,000 annually. This collaboration marks India’s first GenAI bundling by a telecom operator, shifting focus from entertainment to utility-driven AI services.
New Delhi, India – Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecommunications provider, has entered into a strategic alliance with Perplexity AI, a prominent US-based AI-powered search and answer engine. The partnership, announced in mid-July 2025, will grant all 360 million Airtel customers a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro, the premium version of the platform, an offering valued at INR 17,000 per year. This initiative positions Airtel as the first telecom company in India to bundle a generative AI (GenAI) productivity tool, signaling a significant shift in value-added services from traditional entertainment-based offerings to advanced utility-driven platforms.
Perplexity AI is renowned for its ability to provide real-time, accurate, and deeply researched responses in a conversational language, moving beyond mere web page listings to deliver comprehensive answers. The Pro version, now accessible to Airtel’s vast customer base, includes an array of enhanced capabilities. Subscribers will benefit from more daily Pro searches, access to advanced AI models such as GPT 4.1 and Claude, the flexibility to select specific AI models, deep research functionalities, image generation, file uploads and analysis, and access to Perplexity Labs, a unique tool designed to bring innovative ideas to life.
Commenting on this transformative collaboration, Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, stated, “We’re thrilled to announce a game-changing partnership with Perplexity, bringing their cutting-edge AI capabilities exclusively for Airtel customers. This collaboration will bring the powerful and real-time knowledge tool for millions of users at their fingertips, at no extra cost. This first of its kind Gen-AI partnership in India is focused on helping our customers navigate the emerging trends in the digital world with confidence and ease.”
Aravind Srinivas, Cofounder and CEO of Perplexity, also expressed enthusiasm for the venture: “This partnership is an exciting way to make accurate, trustworthy, and professional-grade AI accessible to more people in India—whether a student, working professional, or managing a household.” He further added, “I grew up using an Airtel sim and it feels great to partner together to democratize access to AI in India, a country whose future is bright in the age of AI.”
Industry analysts view this partnership as a potential catalyst for a new wave of bundling strategies within the telecom sector, moving beyond over-the-top (OTT) content to embrace productivity and AI-driven platforms. Raghav Gupta, founder and CEO of Futurense, noted, “What Airtel is doing here is fundamentally different, it’s putting a tool of intelligence and learning into the daily experience of its users. Just like Netflix was once the hook, now tools like Perplexity could be the next value-add.”
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The announcement has already made a significant impact, with Perplexity AI surging to the top of Apple’s App Store in India, surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT in downloads shortly after the deal was made public. This highlights the strong consumer interest and the potential for widespread adoption of advanced AI tools in the Indian market. Airtel users can avail this offer by logging on to the Airtel Thanks App.
