The first taste is always free. Free sampling at malls, specimen copies, and food samples. This business tactic is quite old for us. Now, if you like the sample, acquire the taste and become addicted, it’s a cherry on top. Because once you get addicted; you will have to pay for the whole product. This is how AI got introduced in India. You use ChatGPT or Perplexity, the first taste is always free. Liked the answers? Use it more. Now you have got an addiction.
AI giants are using this old-time strategy. They are making their most powerful, premium-tier intelligence freely available for Indian users. We think it’s a calculated gambit to prepare not just a massive user base, but also to make Indians addicted to their products. They are creating a kind of dependency that can change the entire cognitive habits of a billion Indian people, as we are getting hooked to this free Artificial Intelligence.
So, why are AI giants, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity are giving premium free access to Indian users? Now Jio also jumped in this race. Let Corporate Soldiers bring you every bit of it.
Free Access to Addiction: Are Indians Lab Rats?
There was a time we used to go through history. The history where third world countries become the West’s laboratories to experiment, dream, and disrupt them forever. Nowadays, every major to minor company is experimenting in the same way. The experiments on us, lab rats. Here, you come, you see the product, you use it, and then become addicted to new things until you find a new addiction. For businesses, it becomes an opportunity and an open market, while for you, it becomes something you can’t live without.
Everyone is Using AI These Days
One thing is quite common these days. People are using AI for almost everything, even for the simplest queries. Mostly, the chats are free, but if you want a pro answer, you need to upgrade and purchase a subscription. Hence, people used to wait until their 3 queries per day were refilled the next day. That’s why when OpenAI declared that every Indian with an internet connection could enjoy ChatGPT Go’s powers free for twelve months, everyone became excited to use it. However, we forget to see through this announcement. It was not merely a philanthropy, it was a bet. A bet on us, the lab rats. A bet that habitual usage, technical tinkering, and a rush of curiosity would build brand loyalty stronger than advertising ever could. This is the smart way of marketing to make a loyal customer base for a product. ChatGPT copied this tactic from Perplexity.
Earlier, Perplexity did the same, through their collaboration with Airtel and as expected, everyone shifted to their platform to use it. This also increased loyalty for Airtel. It provided Pro accounts to the masses. However, our people, you must always remember this, every free login is an experiment, a data point, a brain map for the company’s future products. Every try for free button is a psychological tactic to make you addicted to something. Just think about it, after one year, can you let this platform go out of your life? No, you can’t. This isn’t just customer acquisition; it’s a nationwide onboarding onto these platforms.
Free ChatGPT Access for a Year
As we discussed earlier, OpenAI recently announced their plan or let’s say a smarter marketing move. The announcement was that Indian users can access ChatGPT Go, their premium AI model powered by the latest GPT-5, completely free for a whole year. This scheme will start from November 4, 2025. Now, this exact plan was used to costs around Rs 399 per month. However, it is now open to all Indians without charge during this promo period.
You can use your Hinglish, and AI will get your language to give you a detailed answer. But India’s market isn’t just large, it’s quite unpredictable. So, AI needs to understand us before it captures it all. This free access means, we, Indians, will feed data into the system, and this data harvested from India will improve the model’s ability to understand our cultures, slang, accents, and even technical needs. It will understand what our small businesses to large enterprises need, our teachers, students or any other professional need. Therefore, AI will grow not only smarter but also more functional for Indian markets.
- It will gain ChatGPT a huge user base, as India has a massive population. This means that even a small slice converted into paying customers later will be incredibly profitable.
- It will create loyalty as once users get used to these AI tools and see how much they help, they’re unlikely to switch to competitors.
- The incredible diversity in Indian languages, accents, etc., will help AI models get smarter and more apt.
What After One Year?
Let’s not be naïve! Nothing is free in this world. After the year’s carnival, we will have to face reality. Of course, subscriptions will kick in, exclusive features will be walled off, and a percentage of users, now reliant and skilled in these tools, will pay to keep the magic alive. For AI companies, the math is simple. Even if just five percent convert, the market is colossal for them. They will make profits as usual. So, India, you are not getting freebies; it is being courted. The world’s top AI companies are wooing us, whether it’s for creativity, data, or to make us completely dependent on their products.
India has a mix of over 700 million smartphone users and more than a billion internet subscribers. This means our vast, young, and tech-savvy population is eager to explore new technologies and they use it in day to day life.
AI Race in India
We all know how OpenAI isn’t alone in this. The Perplexity partnered with Airtel to introduce free premium AI access to millions of its subscribers. Similarly, Google also made its AI Pro membership free to Indian students for a year.
Also, the MyJio app just lit up with something, Google’s Gemini AI Pro. As we know that Google’s Gemini AI Pro usually costs around ₹1,950/month. Now Jio users can use Gemini AI Pro for 18 months with no charges. The race has just got interesting, hasn’t it? Wait till you hear more. This free subscription and access provide you with Gemini 2.5 Pro insights and Nano Banana’s creativity. Here, NotebookLM can think faster than your caffeine highs, and a 2 TB cloud will keep your digital life safe. Hence, looks like Jio has won this AI race in India. They want to win India’s hearts, minds, and data. So, it’s on you whether to become dependent on these AI platforms or not! Whatever you choose, Corporate Soldiers is just requesting you to be cautious.
