Perplexity AI, the fast-growing San Francisco startup known for its powerful search tools, has earned huge popularity in India. Yet despite its expanding user base and partnerships like the one with Airtel to offer Pro services, the company continues to rely mainly on its two global domains: Perplexity.ai and Perplexity.com.
Perplexity intentionally avoids using country-specific domains such as .in, .uk, .de or even .us, even though it is a US-based company. This is part of a deliberate branding strategy. The idea is simple – keep everything unified under global domains instead of spreading the brand across multiple localized URLs. While this makes sense for consistency, it also leaves the door wide open for others to register similar domains.
Perplexity.in Redirecting to Google Sparks Rumors
This oversight became a talking point recently when Perplexity.in suddenly started redirecting users to Gemini.google.com. That was enough to spark wild speculation that Google had bought the domain to steal traffic from a rising competitor. But so far, there is no real proof of Google’s involvement.
Buying a domain like Perplexity.in is extremely easy, with prices sometimes as low as ₹499 a year. Anyone can purchase one through standard registrars and set up a redirect. This practice isn’t new; it falls under cybersquatting and has caused confusion for many brands across the world.
India Has Seen This Before
The situation is similar to the JioHotstar.com episode in India, where an independent developer grabbed the domain before the official Disney+ Hotstar and Jio merger. The developer even demanded compensation, including education funding, which created a public back-and-forth and unwanted drama for the companies involved.
Perplexity’s case shows how quickly things can spiral when a rapidly growing company doesn’t secure important regional domains in markets like India. Cheap, easily available domains can redirect huge amounts of traffic, sometimes pulling users toward competitors and causing reputational headaches.
A Lesson for Fast-Growing AI Companies
It’s still not clear whether Perplexity plans to buy Perplexity.in or simply let it go. The company has shown interest in acquiring premium domains like os.ai, proving it does invest where it sees strategic value. But this .in situation serves as a reminder that even billion-dollar startups can overlook small but crucial details.
For AI companies hoping to grow in India, this incident is a timely lesson: securing local domains isn’t just about branding. It’s about protecting market presence in one of the fastest-growing digital economies in the world.
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