Perplexity AI, a San Francisco-based startup valued at billions and popular in India for its advanced search capabilities, primarily operates via Perplexity.ai and Perplexity.com. The company follows a deliberate strategy of avoiding country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) like .in, .uk, .de, or even .us, despite its U.S. origins and global expansion efforts such as partnering with Airtel to bundle Pro services for users. This approach aligns with Perplexity's global branding principles, prioritizing unified primary domains over localized ones, though it leaves room for third parties to register and redirect similar URLs.​

Speculation surged when Perplexity.in began redirecting to Gemini.google.com, fueling rumors that Google snapped up the cheap domain—available for as low as Rs 499 annually—to siphon traffic from a direct competitor. However, no concrete evidence confirms Google's involvement; domain registrars like those handling .in extensions allow anyone to purchase and set redirects, a practice known as cybersquatting. Similar incidents have occurred globally, where opportunistic individuals or pranksters exploit brand oversights without corporate backing.​

This mishap echoes India's JioHotstar.com saga, where an independent developer preemptively bought the domain ahead of Reliance Jio's Disney+ Hotstar merger, sparking a public standoff and demands for compensation like education funding. Perplexity's lapse highlights risks for fast-scaling tech firms in emerging markets like India, where affordable domains can redirect massive unintended traffic—potentially costing user trust and market share amid intensifying AI rivalries.​

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Whether Perplexity will pursue acquiring Perplexity.in remains unclear, but the incident underscores the low-cost pitfalls of domain strategy in a hyper-competitive sector. Recent moves like buying premium domains such as os.ai show Perplexity invests strategically elsewhere, yet this .in blunder serves as a cautionary tale for AI players eyeing India.

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