Global tech companies are offering premium artificial intelligence (AI) tools to millions of Indians for free, viewing it as a long-term investment in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets.
Starting this week, millions of Indian users will get a year of free access to ChatGPT’s new low-cost “Go” chatbot. The move follows similar offers from Google and Perplexity AI, which recently tied up with leading Indian telecom operators to distribute their AI services.
Perplexity partnered with Airtel, India’s second-largest mobile network, while Google joined hands with Reliance Jio, the country’s biggest operator, to offer free or discounted AI tools bundled with monthly data packs.
Analysts say these offers are not acts of generosity but calculated efforts to build user habits and loyalty in a massive market. “The plan is to get Indians hooked on generative AI before asking them to pay for it,” Tarun Pathak, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told the BBC.
India’s open and competitive digital market, unlike China’s tightly controlled environment, makes it an attractive testing ground for global tech firms. With over 900 million internet users — most under 24 — and some of the world’s cheapest data, India provides scale, youth, and diversity that help train AI models more effectively.
“AI use cases from India will serve as valuable examples for the rest of the world,” Pathak added. “The more first-hand data companies gather, the better their generative AI systems become.”
However, experts have raised privacy concerns. “Most users have always been willing to give up data for convenience or something free — that will continue,” said Delhi-based technology writer Prasanto K. Roy. “This is where the government must step in.”
India currently lacks a dedicated AI law, though the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) 2023 provides a broad framework for data and privacy regulation. The act has not yet been implemented, and its detailed rules remain pending.
Mahesh Makhija, technology consulting leader at Ernst & Young, said that once enforced, the law could become “one of the most advanced from a digital privacy perspective.”
For now, India’s flexible regulatory climate allows OpenAI, Google, and others to roll out free AI services — a strategy difficult to replicate in regions like the European Union or South Korea, where strict rules on transparency and data use apply.
Experts say India must strengthen user awareness and regulatory safeguards but without stifling innovation. “We need light-touch regulation for now,” Roy said, “but that must evolve as potential harms become clearer.”
Industry observers believe these free offerings mirror India’s earlier digital revolution driven by cheap internet data. Even if only a small fraction of users later subscribe to paid versions, companies could still gain millions of paying customers.
“Even if just 5% of free users convert to paid subscribers, that’s still a huge number,” Pathak said.
With inputs from BBC