Perplexity’s missing India domain redirects users to Google Gemini

Perplexity, one of India’s most widely used AI chatbots, has found itself at the centre of an unexpected domain quirk after users discovered that typing Perplexity.in into their browsers redirects them straight to Google’s Gemini — a direct competitor. The redirect has prompted speculation that Google may have capitalised on Perplexity failing to secure the India-specific domain, potentially benefiting from a simple oversight.

However, the situation is more nuanced. Perplexity has historically avoided buying country-specific domains and primarily operates via Perplexity.ai and Perplexity.com. The company does not own domains in the United Kingdom (.uk), Germany (.de) or even the United States (.us), despite being headquartered in San Francisco. Its absence from the Indian domain registry may therefore reflect internal brand policy rather than negligence.

There is also no evidence that Google has acquired the Perplexity.in domain. The domain can be purchased by virtually anyone for as little as Rs 499, and any buyer can redirect it to Gemini or any other website. Such individuals, known as cybersquatters, routinely buy domains in the hope of leveraging them for future gain.

The timing, however, has drawn attention. Perplexity has recently stepped up its India presence, notably through a partnership with Airtel to provide Perplexity Pro services to its users. This unexpected redirect now sits awkwardly alongside the company’s expansion efforts.

Whether Perplexity will move to acquire the Perplexity.in domain remains to be seen, but for now the unexpected redirect continues to steer Indian users towards Google’s rival AI service.