Airtel, in collaboration with the AI-powered answer engine – Perplexity, last year announced a free Perplexity Pro subscription for a period of one year for its eligible users. Later, in December 2025, several users who had claimed the offer received emails from Perplexity, asking them to add a valid payment method in order to continue using the Pro subscription. Following this, Airtel also updated its terms and conditions page, confirming that the promotional offer had ended on 16th January 2026.
Now, another twist has been added, as several users who had previously claimed the Airtel Perplexity Pro offer are seeing their subscription status listed as ‘Paused’. This may likely be because these users do not have a valid payment method linked to their Perplexity accounts, or because the previously added card details are no longer valid.
Users who do not wish to continue with the Perplexity Pro subscription after the free promotional period ends can simply avoid updating their payment details. However, users who want to continue using the Pro membership may be required to add or update a valid payment method within their Perplexity account.
Speaking of users who entered their card details and do not want the subscription to renew after the free period can follow the steps given below to cancel its automatic renewal.
First, open the Perplexity website and sign in to your account. Following this, tap on your profile and open ‘Settings’ using the gear icon. Users will then have to open the ‘Subscription’ section, select ‘Manage Subscription’, and tap on the ‘Cancel Subscription’ option. Finally, confirm the cancellation when prompted.
Notably, cancelling the subscription should not immediately end the existing complimentary Pro membership. Users should continue to receive the Pro benefits until the mentioned expiry date, however, the subscription will not automatically renew or charge the linked payment method after the free period ends.
Stay tuned for more updates.
