Global artificial intelligence leaders OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity have launched an aggressive free AI subscription push in India — not as charity, but as a strategic bid to win users and valuable multilingual training data in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets.

What’s Being Offered

OpenAI: Its premium plan ChatGPT Go — normally a paid subscription — is being made free for all Indian users for one year.

Google: Through a partnership with Reliance Jio, Google is giving Gemini AI Pro free for 18 months to up to 500 million Jio customers.

Perplexity: In collaboration with Bharti Airtel, Perplexity’s Pro subscription (worth hundreds of dollars annually abroad) is being offered free for a year to millions of users.

Why India Matters So Much

India has become a central battlefield in the global AI race for several reasons:📱 Massive and Diverse User Base

With hundreds of millions of smartphone and internet users — many consuming large amounts of data at low cost — India offers one of the largest pools of potential AI users in the world. 🗣️ Linguistic and Cultural Diversity

AI systems improve by learning from real user interactions. India’s linguistic complexity — with 22 official languages and countless dialects — provides rare multilingual data that helps AI models become more robust and globally capable. 🤖 Training Data Is the Real Currency

Market Impact and User Adoption

Daily active usage of ChatGPT in India has jumped dramatically year-on-year, surpassing that of the U.S. in raw numbers.

Both Gemini and Perplexity have also reported significant increases in Indian users since launching their free offers.

These figures suggest Indians are not just signing up — they are engaging with AI tools actively, boosting the platforms’ global usage metrics.

Beyond Free Access — The Bigger Strategy

Experts see these moves as more than marketing:

🔁 Habit Formation and Lock-in
By providing extended free access, companies hope users are hooked on the service and may eventually convert to paid plans once the offers expire.

📊 Data Advantage
The diversity of languages, dialects, and usage patterns in India produces a rich dataset that helps AI models handle real-world complexity better, benefiting the firms globally.

📈 Long-Term Market Positioning
India’s AI market is projected to grow rapidly. Securing large user bases now gives these companies a competitive edge over rivals and potential future entrants, including homegrown alternatives.