Airtel users get Perplexity Pro free for a year: What does the ₹17,000 tool offer?

Bharti Airtel has announced a partnership with Perplexity to offer its 360 million customers a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro, an AI-powered search and answer engine. The subscription, typically priced at ₹17,000 annually, will now be available at no extra cost to Airtel users across Mobile, Wi-Fi, and DTH services.

Perplexity enables real-time, accurate, and well-researched answers in a conversational tone. Unlike traditional search engines that offer a list of web pages, Perplexity presents concise, easy-to-read results. Users can engage further with the tool to refine responses and achieve better accuracy.

While a free version of the service exists, Perplexity Pro offers additional benefits such as more daily Pro searches, access to advanced AI models like GPT-4.1 and Claude, image generation, file uploads, deep research features, and the use of Perplexity Labs—a tool for transforming ideas into projects.

First Indian telecom partnership for Perplexity

This partnership marks Perplexity’s first collaboration with an Indian telecom operator. Airtel customers can activate the subscription through the Airtel Thanks App.

Gopal Vittal hails partnership as ‘game-changing’

Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel said, “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.”

Perplexity aims to make AI accessible for all

Aravind Srinivas, Cofounder and CEO of Perplexity, said, “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. With Perplexity Pro, users get a smarter, easier way to find information, learn, and get more done.”

Helping students, homemakers and professionals alike

Illustrating its real-world use, the company highlighted how a student in Rajkot could use Perplexity Pro for legitimate research and content organisation, maintaining academic excellence. A homemaker in Kanyakumari could use it as a personal assistant for daily tasks, decision-making, and creativity. A busy professional planning a vacation could input preferences such as destination, budget, and time frame to get a custom-built itinerary within seconds.

Perplexity Pro’s utility, convenience and efficiency, the company stated, is best experienced by using the tool.