New Delhi: Global artificial intelligence companies are stepping up competition in India by offering free access to advanced AI tools, aiming to attract millions of users and tap into the country’s vast and diverse data pool.
Companies such as OpenAI, Google and Perplexity have rolled out promotional offers that give Indian users extended access to premium AI services at no cost. The strategy highlights India’s growing importance as one of the world’s fastest expanding digital markets and a major source of multilingual data needed to train and improve AI systems.
Google has partnered with Reliance Jio to provide free access to its Gemini AI Pro service for up to 18 months to a large base of mobile subscribers. OpenAI has introduced a free one year plan for its ChatGPT Go service in India, while Perplexity has teamed up with Airtel to offer complimentary access to its pro version for selected users.
Industry experts say these free offers are not just marketing tools. India’s online population communicates in many languages and dialects, creating valuable real world data that helps AI models become more accurate and locally relevant. High daily usage allows companies to refine their systems faster and improve performance across global markets.
The response from Indian users has been strong. AI chat tools have seen a sharp rise in daily usage, with India emerging as one of the largest markets for conversational AI. Students, professionals, content creators and small businesses are increasingly using these tools for writing, coding, research and everyday tasks.
However, the rapid growth has also raised concerns about data use and privacy. Some users are cautious about how their conversations may be used for training future AI models. While companies say users can control data sharing settings, awareness about these options is still limited.
The aggressive expansion comes as India considers new rules on AI training data. Policymakers are discussing whether AI firms should compensate local content creators if their work is used to train large language models. If implemented, such measures could significantly affect how global tech companies operate in the Indian market.
Despite possible regulatory changes, technology firms continue to invest in India. Companies are expanding research activities, forming partnerships and strengthening infrastructure to support long term growth.
For now, free access to powerful AI tools is giving millions of Indians firsthand exposure to the technology. How many of these users eventually become paying customers and how India balances innovation with data rights will shape the future of the country’s AI ecosystem.