A week after Zoho’s Arattai app scaled to the top of the charts on Google Play in India, an older entrant has displaced the homegrown messaging app from the top position. In a celebratory post on X (formerly Twitter), Aravind Srinivas, who is a co-founder and the CEO of Perplexity AI, has declared the ascent of his company’s app to the top of the most downloaded apps category on Google Play.
Despite the rise in hype for Zoho’s Arattai in the country lately, which saw a lot of people download the app from the Play Store, Perplexity AI has surged ahead to the number one position on Google Play’s top free apps chart in India. The ascent of Perplexity, which was previously seen on Apple’s App Store, has eclipsed many industry giants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
The milestone, which was announced by the company’s CEO, highlights the rapid adoption of generative AI tools in one of the world’s largest mobile markets. Srinivas’ screenshot of the Play Store rankings celebrated the app’s dominance across all categories with over 38 million downloads to date.
“Perplexity is the number one app in Play Store in India across all categories,” he posted. Accompanied by Perplexity was Zoho’s messaging app Arattai Messenger at the second spot, with ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and entertainment platforms like Kukuw and Meesho taking up successive spots.
Perplexity zooms to Google Play’s most downloaded app chart
Industry experts attribute much of this surge in downloads to a strategic partnership between Perplexity AI and telecom giant Bharti Airtel, which was announced in July 2025. The collaboration offers eligible Airtel customers a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro, unlocking unlimited queries, advanced AI features, and file analysis tools.
With Airtel’s subscriber base exceeding 360 million, the promo offer has democratised access to premium AI, encouraging downloads and eventually pushing the app up the charts. “Airtel is thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind partnership in India with Perplexity AI – unlocking the power of GenAI for millions,” wrote Airtel on a LinkedIn post at the time.
Perplexity, which was founded in 2022, differentiates itself with real-time, citation-backed answers utilising advanced models like GPT-4 and its proprietary tech. Unlike traditional search engines, it delivers synthesised responses, appealing to users who want more than just website links on a blank sheet.
For Indian users, Perplexity’s appeal lies in its multilingual support and relevance to local queries, from cricket scores to regional news.