Artificial intelligence is transforming the way people seek information, reshaping digital experiences worldwide. Among the new wave of AI platforms, Perplexity has emerged as a standout success story, especially in India. Through innovative, culturally attuned marketing and strategic partnerships, Perplexity is redefining growth playbooks in this fast-evolving market.
For digital marketers, branding agency professionals and advertising agency experts alike, Perplexity’s journey offers rich lessons on winning in a price-sensitive, diverse, and digitally hungry landscape. This blog decodes the core marketing strategies fueling Perplexity’s rapid rise and the nuanced tactics behind its user engagement and brand building in India.
Table of Contents:
- Making AI Feel Human
- Influencer & Content Marketing
- Strategic Partnerships with India’s Telecom and Fintech Giants
- Capitalising on India’s Digital Momentum
- Concluding thoughts
Making AI Feel Human
Perplexity steers clear of dry, jargon-filled ads typical of tech sectors. Instead, it crafts bold, relatable brand moments on massive platforms and live sports events to capture wide attention.
One notable campaign spotlighted Jim Harbaugh, a revered football coach, in an ad that avoided AI buzzwords altogether. The focus was on how Perplexity helps users find confident answers quickly, emphasizing a familiar, empowering experience rather than technical complexity.
Similarly, another campaign featured Lee Jung-jae, the famed actor from Squid Game, portraying Perplexity as a practical and trustworthy AI assistant distinct from other robotic-sounding competitors. (We actually loved Perplexity’s cheeky take on a certain, prominent web browser with the “Poogle” embed)
These high-impact videos connect emotionally and make Perplexity approachable to a broader audience. For those in the bustling digital marketing scene, this approach highlights the power of storytelling over specs to humanize technology and build brand affinity.
This grassroots content generates authentic trust, especially among younger, tech-savvy Indian users who often distrust traditional advertisements. The brand has been able to identify the right creators, optimise campaigns, and monitor impact, ensuring precision in targeting without wasting budget.
Influencer & Content Marketing
While Perplexity invests in paid ads on Meta platforms, its real growth engine lies in influencer marketing. With over 1,200 active influencer-driven ads, the brand partners with creators who share genuine use cases — whether cracking complex queries, studying for exams, or simply navigating day-to-day questions.
The brand strategically partnered with top Indian digital creators like CarryMinati and Apoorva Mukhija (The Rebel Kid) to tap into India’s younger audience segment. These campaigns leverage trending Gen Z slang like “rizz,” “aura farming,” and “delulu,” embedding Perplexity into everyday banter.
For example, CarryMinati’s viral skit involving a mock civil services interview uses humor to bridge generational gaps in language and understanding. The campaign also smartly showcased Perplexity’s AI as a quick, reliable source of information, making the technology feel accessible and relevant beyond tech experts. This cultural resonance has built immense brand affinity and viral engagement.
Smart Social-First Campaigning
In a brilliant departure from expensive TV spots typical of major brands, Perplexity leveraged a social-first, low-cost approach during the 2024 Super Bowl. Instead of buying airtime like its peers, Temu and CoPilot did in 2023, Perplexity ran a sweepstakes contest on the X (formerly Twitter) profile of its founder, Aravind Srinivas, offering $1 million to one lucky participant who asked a question via Perplexity’s AI during the game.
There will be no Perplexity Super Bowl ad. Instead, there's a Super Bowl contest. You install the app (not needed if you have the app already), and ask at least five questions on the app during the game, and we will pick one winner to give $1mm. Ask like a millionaire.
— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) February 7, 2025
This campaign brilliantly capitalised on live event buzz, turning passive viewers into active users with a simple, interactive call-to-action. The result? Perplexity’s app installs surged 50% on game day, adding over 45,000 new users in 24 hours. The brand rode trending conversations organically without spending millions on TV, demonstrating that timing, format, and audience engagement matter more than sheer ad spend.
This blend of creativity and data-driven management offers an advanced blueprint for any advertising agency in Ahmedabad or pan-India aiming to scale community-driven marketing while maintaining personalisation.
Strategic Partnerships with India’s Telecom and Fintech Giants
India’s digital revolution thrives on massive ecosystems like Bharti Airtel and Paytm, and Perplexity has astutely aligned itself with these powerhouses. Through an exclusive partnership, Airtel’s 360 million subscribers receive 12 months of Pro access to Perplexity’s AI — an offering valued at $200 — boosting user acquisition enormously.
Additionally, integration with Paytm’s platforms, which sees over 1.2 billion monthly transactions, opens up new touchpoints for millions of users. These collaborations not only enhance Perplexity’s availability but also tap into established trust networks, crucial in a price-sensitive and competitive market for AI adoption.
Capitalising on India’s Digital Momentum
Currently, Perplexity has around 22 million users worldwide, which is a promising figure but small when compared to Google AI’s 2 billion monthly users. This limited scale can pose difficulties for advertisers accustomed to a vast global reach, especially in India’s crowded market.
But in Q2 2024, Perplexity saw a staggering 600% year-on-year increase in app downloads and a 640% surge in monthly active users in India, outperforming OpenAI’s ChatGPT in growth rates locally. This explosive adoption signals Perplexity’s success in addressing the unique needs and behaviours of Indian users through localized content, vernacular support, and culturally informed marketing.
Concluding thoughts
Perplexity’s marketing blueprint stands apart by prioritizing trust and authenticity over aggressive tactics. It tells stories, not specs. It blends ads into natural user journeys rather than interrupting with intrusive spots. It harnesses community creators to reach real, passionate audiences directly. It thinks social-first, leveraging viral and interactive moments instead of budget-first mass campaigns. And crucially, it builds with partners like the media, agencies, and publishers, and not just with users.
India isn’t just a battleground for AI dominance; for Perplexity, it’s the launchpad for a new era of user-first, trust-driven digital marketing.
For brands wanting to emulate the marketing playbook of Perplexity, we’ve got you covered! Get in touch with our team at Flora Fountain at hello@florafountain.com.Innovation in marketing is just as critical as innovation in technology.
The founder and partner of Flora Fountain, Shefali leads the Content and Technology divisions. A one-time engineer who started her career writing front-end code, she took a detour sometime during her 9 years in New York, studied journalism and started writing prose, poetry and sometimes jokes. She now has 15...