- Why Reliance is doing this
- Airtel and Perplexity
- Short-term view: user lock-in, not profit
- Mid-term view: ARPU and premium plan lift
- Long-term view: building India’s AI backbone
- What it means for investors
- Disclaimer
Reliance Industries has entered the next stage of its digital strategy by partnering with Google to offer Jio users 18 months of free access to Google’s Gemini Pro AI plan, worth ₹35,100 per user. The move signals a shift in the company’s ambition, from connecting Indians online to enabling them with artificial intelligence tools.
The offer, available first to users aged 18-25 on Jio’s unlimited 5G plans, includes access to Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro model, image and video generation tools, Notebook LM for research, and 2 TB of cloud storage. The rollout is managed through Reliance’s new AI subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence Limited, in partnership with Google Cloud.
Reliance shares closed almost flat today after the announcement, suggesting investors are watching for clarity on the long-term business impact.
Why Reliance is doing this
The partnership is less about near-term revenue and more about shaping digital behaviour. By integrating AI directly into Jio’s ecosystem, Reliance is locking users into its broader digital platform that already spans telecom, payments, entertainment, and now, intelligence tools.
AI products like Gemini Pro are habit-forming. Once users begin using them for creative or analytical work, they deepen their reliance on Jio’s infrastructure, driving higher data usage, stronger engagement, and lower churn.
Airtel and Perplexity
A few months ago, Airtel also announced a partnership with Perplexity AI, offering all its 360 million users across mobile, broadband and DTH services a 12-month free subscription to Perplexity Pro valued at around ₹17,000. The move reflected Airtel’s intent to give its customers access to advanced AI tools that could enhance productivity and learning.
Reliance’s partnership with Google, however, comes with a broader ambition. While Airtel focused on adding value to its existing plans, Reliance is embedding AI deeper into its ecosystem, linking it with enterprise infrastructure, data capabilities and India’s vision of developing domestic AI compute power.
Short-term view: user lock-in, not profit
For now, the financial impact is minimal. The AI Pro access is free, and Reliance likely absorbs or co-funds the cost with Google. The near-term payoff lies in branding and retention, strengthening Jio’s perception as India’s most future-ready network.
This type of bundling mirrors Reliance’s earlier strategy with content and OTT services, but on a larger scale. It’s a classic ecosystem move: lose money upfront, gain data, loyalty, and long-term user dependency.
Mid-term view: ARPU and premium plan lift
Over the next one to two years, Reliance could see an ARPU uptick if Gemini Pro access remains tied to higher-value 5G or long-duration plans. By incentivising upgrades, Jio can convert digital curiosity into higher revenue.
The offer could also help reactivate dormant customers who have been inactive on Jio’s network. Exposure to premium AI tools might encourage such users to return or upgrade their plans, adding incremental revenue without major customer acquisition costs.
More importantly, it positions Jio as an enabler of everyday AI, whether users are students, traders, or small businesses exploring automation. The benefit compounds as usage drives higher data consumption and cloud storage demand.
Long-term view: building India’s AI backbone
Reliance’s partnership with Google Cloud goes well beyond consumer apps. Under Reliance Intelligence, the company will distribute Gemini Enterprise, a unified agentic AI platform for businesses, and provide access to Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs).
This infrastructure layer could become a major growth engine. High-margin enterprise AI solutions, sovereign data centres, and developer-focused AI tools open new revenue streams far beyond telecom. If executed well, Reliance could evolve from being India’s largest data carrier to one of its largest AI infrastructure providers.
What it means for investors
For investors, this move adds a new long-term vector to Reliance’s digital story.
- Short term: Ecosystem expansion and brand enhancement with limited immediate earnings effect.
- Mid term: Potential ARPU and subscriber gains if AI becomes central to premium plans.
- Long term: Strong enterprise AI monetisation prospects via Reliance Intelligence’s cloud and agentic platforms.
Risks include limited post-trial adoption, high infrastructure costs, and margin pressure if other telcos replicate similar offers. But if Reliance can translate free access into habitual AI use, it could secure a durable edge in India’s next wave of digital growth.
Disclaimer
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