In a country where millions still think twice before paying for apps or subscriptions, two global tech players—Google and Perplexity—have pulled off something that feels like a giveaway: a full year of premium AI tools for free. But scratch beneath the surface of this generosity, and a far more calculated strategy comes into focus—one rooted in user acquisition, data dominance, and long-term ecosystem lock-in.
Let’s tear it down.
Google’s move: College students in India are getting Gemini Advanced (Pro)—powered by the powerful Gemini 2.5 model—for free for 12 months, a plan normally priced at ₹19,500/year. This isn’t just chat access. It includes Veo (text-to-video), NotebookLM, integration into Gmail and Docs, and 2TB of storage. The offer ends September 15, and Google is even accepting college IDs for validation.
Perplexity’s move: In partnership with Airtel, all 360 million Airtel users (mobile, Wi-Fi, DTH) are being offered Perplexity Pro—normally worth ₹17,000/year—for free. The plan includes GPT-4.1, Claude, image generation, file uploads, and deep contextual search with citations.
Between the two, that’s over ₹36,000 worth of services per user being handed out like candy. But why?
Let’s talk numbers:
The math is simple: hook users now—especially the young, digital-savvy, and cost-sensitive—and you’re planting seeds that could grow into long-term revenue streams.
At first glance, it’s philanthropy. Look again, and you’ll see a sophisticated user acquisition funnel.
By offering their best AI tools free of cost, both Google and Perplexity are building daily use cases:
It’s no different from Spotify Premium trials or Uber free rides—get them to use it once a day, and switching becomes hard.
Instead of spending billions on marketing, Google and Perplexity are doing zero-CAC mass acquisition: