In order to seize the Indian AI market, Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity collectively offer memberships!

Global artificial intelligence giants are launching a user acquisition battle in the Indian market, and their primary weapon of choice is: large-scale free distribution of paid subscription services.

The latest significant development comes from Google. The company announced on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Reliance Industries and Meta's joint venture Reliance Intelligence to offer its Gemini AI services for free to over 500 million users of India's largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio. This move marks a sharp escalation in competition in the Indian AI market.

Prior to this, Google's competitors had already begun to make their moves. According to a previous article from Wall Street Journal, OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it would offer a one-year ChatGPT Go membership service to Indian users, available for free to both new and existing users. AI search company Perplexity has partnered with India's second-largest operator, Bharti Airtel, to provide free subscriptions.

This series of intensive "free" offensives highlights the strategic importance of the Indian market for global AI companies. By bundling with India's two major telecom operators, these tech companies have gained a golden channel to directly reach a massive user base, and a user acquisition battle in the Indian market has fully commenced.

Google Partners with Jio, Targeting 500 Million Users

According to the agreement signed between Google and Reliance Intelligence, customers of Jio Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, will receive an 18-month free Google AI Pro plan. This plan includes access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, extended use of NotebookLM for learning and research, and 2TB of cloud storage among other premium features. The service is valued at 35,100 rupees (approximately $396) per user.

The rollout of the service will be phased, with young users aged 18 to 25 holding Jio's unlimited 5G plans being the first to experience it, eventually covering Jio's entire user base. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, stated that the goal is to make India an "AI-enabled" nation through partnerships with strategic long-term partners like Google.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, stated:

"I am excited that this collaboration will help popularize AI in India."

Before Google took action, its competitors had already begun their initiatives. In July of this year, India's second-largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced a partnership with Perplexity to offer its 360 million customers free access to Perplexity Pro services, which has an annual fee of $200 globally. Subsequently, both parties launched an intensive marketing campaign on social media, inviting well-known Indian influencers to post short videos promoting the use cases of this free AI tool.

Meanwhile, OpenAI announced on Tuesday, October 28, that starting November 4, new users in India will be able to use its affordable subscription plan ChatGPT Go for free for up to a year. ** ChatGPTGo was launched in India for the first time in August, as the most affordable paid plan, with an annual fee of 399 rupees (less than 5 dollars). Previously, OpenAI's budget Go plan had doubled the number of paid users in India. India is OpenAI's second-largest market, and the company is rapidly expanding its operations locally, planning to establish a 1-gigawatt data center in India.

Key Battleground: Why India?

For global tech companies striving to expand the reach of applications and digital tools, partnering with Jio and Airtel, which dominate the Indian market, is a shortcut to reaching a massive user base. India's vast digital population makes it a key market that cannot be ignored.

Data shows that India ranks among the top globally in user numbers across major social platforms: Facebook has over 350 million users, Instagram has 413.8 million users, YouTube has over 467 million users, and the instant messaging app WhatsApp has more than 500 million users.

Additionally, India's young demographic is highly attractive. According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, India has approximately 377 million "Generation Z" young people, who currently contribute $860 billion in consumer spending, a figure expected to rise to $2 trillion by 2035. The large user base and immense consumption potential make India the core battleground for global digital services and generative AI competition