Optus will begin bundling a 12-month subscription to AI-powered search tool Perplexity AI with selected mobile plans, marking what appears to be the first time an Australian telco has included a generative AI service in its consumer offerings.
The subscription to Perplexity Pro will be offered at no cost to all Optus mobile customers for the first 12 months, a number which currently stands at roughly six million. This includes Optus business customers.
Optus confirmed with SmartCompany that Perplexity Pro would be a paid product through Optus after 12 months, but customers would not be auto-billed.
The announcement follows a similar move by Vodafone internationally back in October. The UK-based telco announced it would offer Google One AI Premium subscriptions with mobile plans in select European markets in 2025.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 312868
Optus said the subscription will also be extended to its employees and forms part of a wider strategy to integrate AI tools across its customer experience efforts. The company has also released educational resources on generative AI and online safety for families.
The telco says the move is part of Optus’ broader push to increase public engagement with AI tools, amid relatively slower adoption rates in Australia.
A 2024 Deloitte Insights report found just 54% of Australians had used generative AI in the past year, compared to 67% across the Asia-Pacific.
“AI shouldn’t be reserved for experts or tech insiders,” said Anthony Shiner, Optus’ chief customer officer for consumer.
“Whether it’s helping with learning, work, or planning itineraries, AI is a game-changer.”
Perplexity is a competitor to the likes of ChatGPT and Microsoft and Google’s generative AI offerings.
What is Perplexity AI?
Perplexity positions itself as an advanced AI-powered search and summarisation tool. It allows users to ask research-style questions, analyse documents and spreadsheets, and switch between large language models from providers including OpenAI and Anthropic.
Founded in August 2022, Perplexity has rapidly emerged as a significant player in the AI search engine market.
The company has raised approximately US$1.2 billion in funding over six rounds, with notable investors including SoftBank, NVIDIA and Jeff Bezos.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 307032
In mid-May, it was revealed Perplexity is in the late stages of a fresh US$500 million raise at a valuation of US$14 billion.
Its valuation in December was US$9 billion, a jump from its US$3 billion valuation in June 2024.
As of March 2025, Perplexity had just shy of US$100 million in annual recurring revenue.
“We built Perplexity to make knowledge accessible to everyone,” said Ryan Foutty, vice president of business at Perplexity.
“Our partnership with Optus allows us to reach a broader audience in Australia, helping users navigate the digital landscape with confidence.”
What Optus’ partnership with Perplexity means for small business
With the free Perplexity offer being available to individual and small business mobile customers, both companies said the tool could deliver meaningful productivity gains for small business owners as well.
“I think small business is potentially a really big winner,” said Anthony Shiner, chief customer officer at Optus, to SmartCompany.
“They’re juggling so much, and tools like this can help them get faster, clearer answers without needing to be tech experts.”
Perplexity’s vice president of business Ryan Foutty pointed to features in the Pro subscription that allow users to build websites, dashboards, or interactive customer tools with minimal effort. This includes the startup’s Perplexity AI Lab product, which just launched last week.
He said small business users could quickly generate functional outputs like marketing materials or internal documents using their own data sources.
“You might be great at making pizza, but new to running a business,” Foutty said.
“Perplexity can help fill in those knowledge gaps, whether it’s building a website, understanding your numbers, or even letting customers ask questions about your products through your own chatbot powered by our API.”
Foutty said the goal is to make advanced tools accessible to non-technical users, enabling small businesses to move faster and deliver better customer experiences.
Never miss a story: sign up to SmartCompany’s free daily newsletter and find our best stories on LinkedIn.
