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Google has escalated its legal battle against India's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), by filing an appeal in the Supreme Court. The tech giant is challenging a March 2025 ruling by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which largely affirmed the CCI's findings that Google abused its dominant position in the Android ecosystem through its Play Store policies and the promotion of Google Pay.

The appeal, filed on July 21, is expected to be listed for hearing soon. This development marks the latest chapter in a protracted legal dispute that began with a CCI investigation into Google's Play Store billing practices in November 2020.

In October 2022, the CCI had initially concluded that Google engaged in anti-competitive behavior by mandating the use of its Google Play Billing System (GPBS) for app purchases, while exempting its own applications like YouTube from similar commission structures. The CCI imposed a hefty fine of ₹936.44 crore and directed Google to cease these practices, including allowing third-party billing and ensuring data transparency.

The NCLAT's March 28 ruling largely upheld the core findings of abuse. The tribunal agreed that Google leveraged its dominance in the markets for licensable operating systems for smartphones and app stores for Android OS to unfairly promote Google Pay, thereby violating Section 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act. 

"We are satisfied that dominance in [the] first two markets has been used to leverage to promote and protect its position in the market for UPI enabled digital payment apps,” the NCLAT stated in its judgment. It also affirmed the CCI's conclusion under Section 4(2)(a)(i) that Google imposed unfair and discriminatory conditions on developers through mandatory GPBS usage.

However, the NCLAT also provided some relief to Google. It set aside the CCI's findings regarding denial of market access and restriction of innovation, noting that Google's billing services constituted less than 1% of total UPI transactions and that there was insufficient evidence of market foreclosure or hindrance to technical development.

Crucially, the NCLAT overturned several "ex-ante" or preventive directives issued by the CCI, including obligations based on Google's designation as a "gatekeeper." Citing the 2024 Digital Competition Law Committee Report, the Tribunal ruled that such forward-looking measures exceeded the CCI's powers under the existing ex-post competition law framework.

The original penalty of ₹936.44 crore was also recalibrated by the NCLAT. The tribunal determined that the CCI erred in applying the penalty to Google’s global turnover, reducing the fine to ₹216.69 crore by limiting it to Play Store-specific revenues.

In a subsequent order on May 1, the NCLAT addressed what it described as an "inadvertent error" in its original judgment, reinstating two key data-related directives from the CCI. These directives require Google to disclose its data policies and refrain from leveraging billing data for competitive advantage. Google's objection that this amounted to a review of the judgment was rejected by the tribunal.

The Supreme Court will now review Google’s appeal, which challenges both the substance of the NCLAT's ruling and the procedural correction made in its May 1 order. The outcome of this appeal will have significant implications for how dominant digital platforms operate in India's rapidly evolving digital economy.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/small-businesses-welcome-ccis-tougher-penalties-to-rein-in-big-tech-dominance-58064.htm">Read More: Small businesses welcome CCI’s tougher penalties to rein in big tech dominance</a>

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Google takes Android dominance battle to Supreme Court

Alphabet’s Sales and Marketing expenses increased by 4.6% year-over-year in the June quarter (from $6.79 billion to $7.10 billion). On a year-to-date basis, spending rose by 11.4% (from $13.22 billion in 2024 to $14.72 billion in 2025). This suggests a steady uptick in promotional or customer acquisition efforts, possibly tied to expanding AI products, platform competition, or new market strategies.

Highlighting the company’s momentum as it leans into artificial intelligence and its core advertising business. The company posted a 14% year-over-year rise in revenue to $96.43 billion, while net income climbed 19% to $28.2 billion. Operating income grew 14% to $31.27 billion, with services revenue up 12% to $82.5 billion.

Google’s advertising revenue climbed to $71.3 billion from $64.6 billion a year earlier, a 10.4 percent increase, with YouTube ad revenue jumping 13 percent to $9.8 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, ad revenue was up 6.6 percent, matching the sequential growth in overall revenue, while profit rose 2.17 percent.

Search, Google’s largest business, benefited from the company’s aggressive rollout of AI features, including AI Mode, which launched in the United States and India, and AI Overviews, now available in more than 200 countries and territories. Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s chief executive, emphasized that these additions are driving increased user engagement.

“AI Overviews now has over 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages,” Pichai said, noting that the features are prompting users to search more frequently, especially among younger audiences.

Pichai described the quarter as a reflection of the company’s strong positioning in artificial intelligence. “We had a standout quarter, with robust growth across the company. We are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum. Search delivered double-digit revenue growth, and our new features, like AI Overviews and AI Mode, are performing well,” he said.

Beyond Search, Alphabet continues to see strength across its portfolio. YouTube’s ad and subscription businesses expanded, while Shorts, its short-form video offering, now generates as much revenue per watch hour in the United States as traditional instream ads. “In some countries, it now even exceeds instream's rate,” Pichai said.

Alphabet’s cloud division also posted gains, with Google Cloud revenues rising 32 percent to $13.6 billion, driven by demand for AI products and infrastructure. “Nearly all gen AI unicorns use Google Cloud,” Pichai said, as the division’s annual revenue run rate now exceeds $50 billion, with new Google Cloud Platform customers increasing nearly 28 percent from the previous quarter.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/the-ai-checkmate-googles-licensing-push-tests-the-limits-of-tech-publisher-power-dynamics-76456.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The AI checkmate: Google's licensing push tests the limits of tech–publisher power dynamics</a>

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Google-owner Alphabet spends $14.72 billion on sales & marketing in FY25

Google has opened negotiations with nearly 20 national news publishers, signaling a shift in how the tech giant intends to engage with the media industry in the age of generative AI. According to a Bloomberg report, the pilot initiative aims to license news content for use in Google’s AI-driven products, including chatbots and AI-generated summaries. The move is being viewed as both a reputational reset and a legal safeguard.

Tensions between tech platforms and media houses have been mounting as AI tools increasingly rely on publisher content to train models and generate responses that divert users away from original sources. While startups like OpenAI and Perplexity AI have already begun licensing content, Google's scale makes its efforts particularly consequential.

If the pilot succeeds, it could open up a fresh revenue stream for news outlets that have been hit hard by declining ad revenue and reader engagement. But analysts caution that Google’s latest move is as much about managing risk as it is about rebuilding trust.

"Search engines integrating generative AI are increasingly vulnerable to legal scrutiny," says Siddharth Chandrashekhar, advocate and counsel at the Bombay High Court. He points to lawsuits like The New York Times versus OpenAI and formal complaints filed in the European Union against Google as signals of a global wave of copyright and antitrust litigation. "As AI tools reduce traffic to publisher sites, claims of copyright infringement and market harm will grow, especially if content is reused without explicit consent. Without regulatory clarity, platforms integrating Gen AI have two options: license or risk litigation."

Chandrashekhar explains that under most copyright regimes, using protected content in AI tools, especially when excerpts or paraphrased segments are displayed, requires permission from the rights holders. "Google’s AI tools surface identifiable text directly, which is more than mere indexing. Thus, licensing from publishers is a prudent legal safeguard."

He adds that in India, where "fair dealing" is narrower and mostly limited to non-commercial use, licensing becomes even more critical. "This is not merely image management. It is a legal risk mitigation strategy, particularly as courts worldwide begin examining what constitutes transformative use."

Unlike jurisdictions such as the EU or the UK, India does not explicitly allow commercial text and data mining. In contrast, U.S. courts have sometimes upheld the training of AI models on publicly accessible content as transformative fair use. However, judgments like the one in the Anthropic case have drawn boundaries, especially where acquisition is unlawful.

According to Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner at KS Legal and Associates, "Lawsuits like NYT versus OpenAI are a harbinger. As generative AI becomes part of mainstream search experiences, entities with significant market power and heavy content reliance will become prime targets."

She argues that courts will soon be forced to confront a core legal question: whether AI-generated content differs enough from classical search to qualify under fair use. "Legally, there’s a significant difference between indexing for retrieval and synthesizing or repackaging content in AI-generated formats. Indexing supports discovery. Generation arguably creates a derivative work. The line is crossed when the AI output mimics the substance or structure of proprietary material in a way that supplants its value."

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/indias-ai-revolution-airtel-hand-delivers-perplexity-pro-to-370-mn-challenging-googles-reign-75571.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Airtel’s bold bet: Perplexity Pro lands on 370 mn phones, taking aim at Google in India’s AI race</a>

While the legal calculus unfolds, industry insiders are also scrutinizing the economics of the licensing model. Arjit Sachdeva, co-founder of VDO.AI, believes Google's gesture is well-timed but incomplete. "Google’s licensing push is a step in the right direction. However, at face value, it reflects a strategic move to de-escalate tensions with publishers and demonstrate a willingness to share value. But structurally, the model remains limited."

According to Sachdeva, when AI Overviews appear in search results, they trigger a sharp drop in organic traffic for publishers. "That’s not just a dent in visibility. It’s a direct hit on revenue. While licensing introduces a new stream, the current pay-per-crawl model is a one-time transaction for perpetual value extraction. In contrast, a publisher’s monetisation model is recurring and dynamic."

He suggests that the real solution lies in a more scalable and usage-based compensation system, similar to music royalties. "Publishers should be paid each time their content contributes to an AI response. This could be structured through tokenization or pay-per-query frameworks. So yes, licensing is a positive gesture, but unless it’s tied to scalable, repeatable compensation models, it won't offset the structural revenue erosion AI is creating."

The impact is not limited to organic traffic. As AI Overviews and summary-first interfaces gain traction, Sachdeva notes a stagnation in video ad engagement across multiple publisher partners. The issue is visibility. "When answers are served at the top of the page, fewer users scroll through to the ad-supported content below the fold."

On the supply side, another challenge is rising. The proliferation of MFA (Made-for-Advertising) websites, many fueled by AI-generated content, is diluting inventory quality. "IAS research shows MFA video impressions garner 28 percent lower attention, and recent studies indicate up to a 50 percent drop in reader trust when AI content is suspected."

For Sachdeva, the way forward is clear. "The opportunity now lies in rebuilding monetisation models that optimize for attention, quality, and context, not just impressions. That’s the roadmap we’re betting on."

As Google's licensing pilot unfolds, what remains to be seen is whether it can truly rebalance the equation between those who build the platforms and those who create the content that fuels them.

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<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/special-coverage/storyboard18-dnpa-conclave-2025-meitys-abhishek-singh-to-share-views-on-digital-news-platforms-57304.htm">Read more: Storyboard18 DNPA Conclave 2025: MEITY’s Abhishek Singh to share views on future-ready digital ecosystems</a>

The AI checkmate: Google's licensing push tests the limits of tech–publisher power dynamics

Google announced several initiatives aimed at advancing India's artificial intelligence capabilities and supporting its developer community at Google I/O Connect India 2025 on Wednesday.

A key announcement was the localization of onshore processing for Gemini 2.5 Flash. This aims to provide faster, low-latency AI performance for Indian developers, particularly in regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, and governance.

Manish Gupta, Senior Director for India and APAC at Google DeepMind, stated, "Indian developers are literally writing the next chapter of India's success story, using AI capabilities to build real-world applications that are reaching millions of businesses and people across India and the world."

Google also highlighted its commitment to India's developer ecosystem. The company reported that its Play and Android platforms generated ₹4 lakh crore in revenue and created 35 lakh jobs in 2024. Additionally, Google introduced agentic AI tools and optimized templates within Firebase Studio, designed to enable developers to build and deploy full-stack AI applications with increased speed and efficiency.

For mobile commerce, Google expanded access to over 250 million mapped places globally and launched India-specific pricing for Google Maps UI components. AI-powered summaries in the Places API will assist developers in creating location-based services for Indian users.

Furthering India's AI ambitions, Google is collaborating with three India AI Mission startups—Sarvam, Soket AI, and Gnani—on Make-in-India AI models based on Gemma. Sarvam's "Sarvam-Translate" model was cited as an example of this work. In partnership with IIT Bombay's BharatGen, Google is also working to advance ASR and TTS models for Indic languages.

To support the Indian game development community, Google launched the 'Google Play x Unity Game Developer Training' program in collaboration with Unity and GDAI. This program will initially target 500 Indian developers, offering over 30 hours of specialized training across various game development roles.

The Gen AI Exchange Hackathon was also highlighted, encouraging developers to apply AI skills to real-world challenges. During the event, startups including Sarvam, InVideo, Glance, and Nykaa showcased solutions developed using Google's AI models.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/indias-ai-revolution-airtel-hand-delivers-perplexity-pro-to-370-mn-challenging-googles-reign-75571.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Airtel’s bold bet: Perplexity Pro lands on 370 mn phones, taking aim at Google in India’s AI race</a>

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Google boosts India's AI ambition with Gemini localization, developer support

Instagram is testing a new analytics feature that provides like counts for individual frames within carousel posts. This update aims to offer users more detailed insights into content performance.

The new feature attributes likes based on the image visible when a user engages with the like button. Each frame in a carousel then displays a separate like count, potentially indicating frame-level engagement.

While this method may not be exact, as likes can reflect appreciation for the entire post, a noticeably higher count on a single frame could suggest stronger viewer preference for that content.

This feature arrives as Instagram continues its emphasis on carousel posts. In the past, Instagram head Adam Mosseri stated that carousel posts often achieve greater reach than single-image uploads. He cited two reasons: increased interaction opportunities due to multiple media elements and Instagram’s practice of resurfacing carousels by showing subsequent images to users who did not initially engage.

The introduction of frame-specific insights may provide content creators with a tool to refine their posting strategies, especially as the platform continues to prioritize engagement-driven visibility.

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Beyond total likes: Instagram tests per-frame engagement for carousels

US tech companies Meta, X, and LinkedIn have formally appealed a VAT claim from Italy. This action initiates a legal challenge regarding the taxation of digital services across the European Union.

A Reuters report indicates that the companies filed appeals with Italy's first-instance tax court in mid-July. This follows a failure to reach a settlement with Italian tax authorities. This case marks the first instance where Italy has pursued full trial proceedings against major tech companies, departing from prior negotiations that often concluded in settlements.

The core of the dispute involves Italy's interpretation of value-added tax rules. Authorities contend that users registering for free access to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn should be considered a taxable event. The rationale is that users provide personal data in exchange for a membership account, which authorities consider an economic transaction.

Potential Broad Implications

Should Italian courts uphold this interpretation, it could affect various businesses beyond social media. This includes airlines, retailers, and publishers that offer digital access in exchange for user data or consent for profiling.

The Italian Revenue Agency seeks €887.6 million from Meta, €12.5 million from X, and approximately €140 million from LinkedIn. These claims were issued in March, and the companies' appeal followed their mid-July response deadline.

Meta stated it had "cooperated fully with the authorities" but "strongly disagrees with the idea that providing access to online platforms to users should be subject to VAT." LinkedIn declined comment, and X has not responded to inquiries.

EU Advisory Opinion Sought

Italy is preparing to request an advisory opinion from the European Commission. Questions are expected to be submitted by the Economy Ministry to the EU's VAT Committee by early November, with a response anticipated by spring 2026.

While non-binding, a negative opinion from the committee could lead Italy to abandon the VAT claim and suspend related criminal investigations. Legal experts suggest that if endorsed, Italy's approach could impact VAT rules across the 27-nation EU, where VAT rules are broadly harmonized.

This dispute occurs amid ongoing tensions between US tech companies and European regulators. Reuters previously reported that Meta will not change its "pay-or-consent" data model despite scrutiny from Brussels. Separately, the Financial Times reported that the European Commission has paused a probe into X, reportedly to maintain momentum in transatlantic trade talks.

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/indias-ai-revolution-airtel-hand-delivers-perplexity-pro-to-370-mn-challenging-googles-reign-75571.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Airtel’s bold bet: Perplexity Pro lands on 370 mn phones, taking aim at Google in India’s AI race</a>

Meta, X, LinkedIn appeal Italy's €1 billion VAT claim

Over 370 million Indians just got handed a Rs 17,000 AI subscription for free, last week. In an unprecedented move, Airtel partnered with AI search engine Perplexity to bundle its Pro plan for all subscribers, effectively giving India one of the largest mass-level onboarding exercises into premium AI tools. For most consumers, this was their first encounter with anything beyond ChatGPT. For industry insiders, it felt like the start of a distribution war that might upend how discovery, search, and advertising are done in the world’s largest democracy.

On paper, the Perplexity-Airtel deal looks like a classic telco bundling strategy. Airtel benefits from increased data consumption and engagement, potentially boosting its ARPU. Perplexity, in turn, gets instant reach to over 330 million users—no small feat for a relatively new player in the AI space. But dig deeper, and it reveals something more tectonic: a quiet attempt to bypass the Google ecosystem in one of its most valuable growth markets.

“This is a win-win,” said Viniit Mehta, founder of Pressplay Capital. “Even if only 10–15% of Airtel’s base uses Perplexity regularly, it’s enough to break the customer journey as marketers know it. Perplexity doesn’t behave like Google—it doesn’t offer ten blue links. It gives one answer, with citations, jumping steps in how people discover and decide.”

A New Mode of Search

Perplexity’s real edge isn’t just speed — it’s synthesis. Users get answers backed by sources, often with image-generation, file analysis, and multi-model comparison built in. Professionals who pay for Claude, GPT, and Grok often find themselves defaulting to Perplexity for research and content generation. “It combines the strengths of the others, while letting you validate claims,” one user posted after the Airtel launch. “For deep research, it’s unmatched.”

This matters because it marks a shift in how people are asking questions. As Gopa Menon, COO & Co-founder at Theblur said puts it, “Google doesn’t get disrupted by a better interface. It gets disrupted when someone shifts the expectation of discovery.” And Perplexity is poking at that—especially among power users who value clarity over clutter.

Unlike traditional search where brands fight for visibility through SEO, Perplexity offers a more conversational path. The AI pulls from credible sources and provides direct answers. This means brands can’t game their way to the top—they need to be cited in the right context. As Sindhu Biswal, CEO and founder of Buzzlab explains: “Forget the old SERP playbook. You’re not optimizing pages anymore; you’re optimizing conversations. Credibility and clarity are the new currency.”

A Small Threat or a Strategic Provocation?

So, should Google be worried? Not immediately. Google's dominance is tied to its ownership of the digital plumbing—Chrome, Android, YouTube, Maps. It owns the ecosystem. Perplexity, for now, is just an elegant layer floating above it. But as Biswal cautioned, “Dismissing Perplexity as hype would be dangerously arrogant. Users are already responding to zero-click, citation-backed answers. If Google sleeps on this, that format might become the new normal.”

Currently, Perplexity’s model is still immature in terms of scale and personalization. It needs more user data to build behavioral models and refine recommendations. But that’s exactly what this Airtel deal offers: access to one of the largest data farms in the world. India is not just a testbed—it’s the raw material for algorithmic evolution.

“I tested the same nuanced question across GPT, Claude, LLaMA, and Perplexity,” said Gowthaman Ragothaman, Founding CEO of Saptharushi. “I got four different answers. That’s the problem. None of them are fully right. But Perplexity felt the most thoughtful.”

The Monetization Mirage

One big unknown remains: revenue. With an annual Pro price of ₹17,000–₹19,000, Perplexity is out of reach for the average Indian user once the Airtel bundle ends. And compared to ChatGPT’s ₹2,000 tier, the disparity feels stark. “They won’t pay,” admitted Ragothaman . “But this is where partnerships come in. Perplexity’s loss-making model means it can afford to discount while it figures out commerce. Think payments within recommendations. Think checkout buttons. This is about finding new monetization surfaces.”

Ads haven’t entered the equation—yet. But they will. The Netflix playbook is instructive: resist ads, then embrace them once scale stagnates. “Advertising is the apple every platform will eventually bite,” said the strategist. “That’s when things get real.”

And when they do, the implications for Indian adtech will be profound.

Marketers, Rewire Your Funnel

Perplexity changes the marketing funnel. It doesn’t guide users through awareness, interest, and decision—it collapses that journey into a single step. Users ask, get a clear answer, and potentially act on it—all without scrolling through multiple sources.

This is why advertisers and brand strategists are suddenly scrambling. “Where do you even rank in Perplexity?” asked Biswal. “There’s no SEO strategy. You have to be cited in data, articles, academic papers—wherever the AI pulls from. It’s a credibility game, not a click-through one.”

That shift is hard for agencies trained on CTRs and keyword domination. But it also opens up opportunity—for those who adapt.

The Bigger Play: Telcos vs Google?

The real story might not be Perplexity vs Google. It might be Airtel vs Google. Telcos like Airtel have long been dismissed as “dumb pipes”—infrastructure providers with little say in the content or discovery layer. But what if they start bundling AI tools, curating search behavior, and eventually inserting commerce or media offerings directly into those platforms?

“That’s the distribution war no one’s watching,” said Mehta. “This isn’t just a tech partnership. It’s a shot across the bow. If Jio or Vodafone Idea jump in, it could split the discovery landscape. Telcos have the billing relationships. They have the scale. Google doesn't own them.”

Even OEMs—smartphone manufacturers—could get into the mix. Imagine a phone that defaults to Perplexity or another LLM-backed engine instead of Google Search. Suddenly, the moat looks a little less deep.

From Curiosity to Default

What Perplexity lacks in infrastructure, it compensates with speed, clarity, and growing brand recognition. That’s how habits form—first with professionals and power users, then with the mainstream. And once a new expectation is set—clean answers, no noise, research-grade sourcing—it becomes hard to go back.

Google’s monopoly isn’t guaranteed. It’s a habit. And habits change faster than monopolies think. As Menon said, “Google doesn’t get disrupted by a better interface. It gets disrupted when someone shifts the expectation of discovery. Perplexity is poking at that—especially among power users and professionals who value speed and synthesis over link-hunting. But moat-wise, Google still owns the web’s plumbing: indexation, infrastructure, and massive ad demand. So Perplexity is more of a provocation than a threat for now. The danger comes if enough users start defaulting to answer engines first, and if advertisers follow—and I feel we are at that tipping point when this could start concerning Google.”

Biswal sums it up sharply, “You’re not trying to show up first. You’re trying to become the trusted answer.”

If Perplexity becomes that answer engine for even 10% of India’s digital users, the rules of the game will need rewriting. And Google, for the first time in years, might need to play catch-up.

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Airtel’s bold bet: Perplexity Pro lands on 370 mn phones, taking aim at Google in India’s AI race

Meta has recruited two additional artificial intelligence researchers, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, from Apple. This follows Meta's earlier hiring of Ruoming Pang, who previously led Apple’s large language models team. Pang's move to Meta earlier this year reportedly included a multi-year compensation package exceeding $200 million.

Lee and Gunter will join Meta's Superintelligence Labs team, an AI division led by Alexandr Wang and Nat Friedman. Bloomberg reports that Lee has already started at Meta, having left Apple recently, while Gunter is expected to begin work soon.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, has taken a direct role in Superintelligence Labs. Meta has increased its efforts to recruit engineers and researchers from companies including Apple, Google, and OpenAI in recent months.

These departures occur amid reports of internal shifts within Apple’s foundation models team, which develops the technology for Apple’s AI features. Reports suggest Apple's AI executives are considering the use of external models for features like Siri and Apple Intelligence, potentially leveraging OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude next year.

Meta has reportedly offered significant compensation packages to engineers from Apple, with salaries several times higher than Apple's offers for foundation engineers. In response, Apple has increased compensation for approximately 100 of its engineers to retain talent. Bloomberg states that Gunter is part of a group receiving multi-year packages valued at over $100 million.

Zuckerberg has indicated a willingness to invest in Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. In a Threads post, he stated a focus on building a team and investing hundreds of billions of dollars into compute for superintelligence, noting the capital availability from Meta's business.

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Meta hires two more Apple AI researchers after poaching their boss

Everyone Storyboard18 spoke to who uses YouTube Premium swears by it. No ads, uninterrupted playlists, background play, downloads — the experience is smooth, addictive, and, as many described it, “worth every rupee.” And yet, the numbers tell a different story: less than 5% of India’s YouTube audience is on Premium, according to industry estimates.

That’s the paradox. YouTube Premium isn’t failing because people don’t like it — it’s failing because most never try it. Despite aggressive ad enforcement and user frustration with poor targeting and frequency, Indians remain reluctant to pay ₹129 a month to make the annoyance go away.

Why? It’s not just about affordability. “In India, paying to not see something still feels counterintuitive to most digital users,” says Sindhu Biswal, CEO and founder of BuzzLab. “We’re a country that’s grown up on jugaad, skip buttons, and watching full cricket matches with banner ads dancing on top.” For most, he explains, YouTube’s Premium pitch essentially paying for an absence is a tough sell, especially when platforms like Spotify or OTTs offer visible benefits like exclusive content or early access.

Still, for those who’ve made the switch, Premium is more than ad-free browsing — it’s a habit.

Aditya Worah, a podcast producer says, “Spotify has just songs and podcasts, but YouTube has that — and much, much more.” Whether it's listening while walking, cooking, or working, Premium’s background play and download options have become indispensable.

Akshay Mathur, Founder & CEO - Unpromptd, who is a Premium Family plan subscriber for nearly a year, highlights two major use cases: background play for multitasking and an ad-free YouTube Music experience, particularly during parties. “The only downside, in my opinion,” they say, “is that at this price point, there’s no access to premium content. It should include some better and exclusive content.”

Manish M Nagori calls the service ‘fully satisfying’, especially with a child at home. “It’s connected to my TV where my kid listens to nursery rhymes, so no ads is a great feature.” He praises YouTube’s compatibility across platforms — Android TV, iPhone, CarPlay — and the YT Music app’s “great randomized algorithm.” His only gripe is YouTube’s own UX issue: “Not being able to find Continue Watching videos.”

Rutwik subscribes primarily for music. “YouTube is the original content repository for artists — the hub for all music, remixes, special sets,” they say. “Other platforms lose access to songs due to licensing, but YouTube is a saviour during those times.”
The ad-free benefit has grown on them too. “When I’m watching a recipe, revisiting old videos, or learning a skill, not having ads saves time. Though as a marketer, it feels a bit ironic — guilty as charged.”
They’re happy with the service overall: “The pricing is fair, and features like PiP, queuing, and syncing across devices really enhance the experience.”

Rony Patra values both YouTube Premium and Spotify, but sees YouTube as unmatched in scale. “Spotify is great for surfacing unknown artists. But YouTube’s catalogue is deeper — especially for long-lost or rare songs. YT Music’s algorithm may not match Spotify, but it performs decently.”

A Sound Strategy With a Muffled Pitch

The user experience is not the problem — the messaging is. “YouTube Premium isn’t selling an experience,” Biswal points out. “It’s selling an absence. And until that changes, it’ll remain a nice-to-skip product in India.”

From a business model perspective, YouTube Premium makes strategic sense. According to Arjit Sachdeva, co-founder of VDO.AI, the platform is clearly in long-game mode. “YouTube reported $8.92 billion in ad revenue for Q3 2024, up 12% year-on-year. And they’ve invested in server-side ad injection — not something you do for short-term gain.”

He notes that Premium subscribers also generate more consistent revenue per minute for creators, since payouts are based on watch time, not volatile ad CPMs. “They’re betting their content moat — especially among heavy users — is deep enough to shift behavior.”

Still, Sachdeva flags a fundamental challenge. “When 52% of users don’t convert despite aggressive prompts, it’s a messaging issue, not a pricing one.” He contrasts YouTube’s approach with Netflix’s — the latter built desire through exclusivity. “YouTube is limiting existing features instead. It’s a strategic plan hampered by tactical friction.”

The risk? “The execution might undermine what’s otherwise a smart model,” he warns. “There’s a clear shift toward subscription revenue. But the way it’s being pushed could be slowing that evolution.”

Meanwhile, Kartik Mehta, Head of Asia at Channel Factory, highlights a parallel concern: ad fatigue. “Most Indian users accept ads as the cost of free content — but poor targeting and repetition wear them down.” His firm’s consumer research shows that 68% of users are open to ads — if they’re relevant. But fatigue levels in India are already 10% higher than other APAC markets.

“The irony is that Premium uptake is low, so most brand activity still targets the free tier,” he says. “But that makes relevance even more important. Bad targeting feels intrusive. Good targeting adds value.”

YouTube’s move to block ad blockers with global ad blocker usage near 43% — may boost revenue, Kartik notes. “They hit $10.4 billion in ad revenue in Q4 2024, a 13.8% YoY jump. With this crackdown, revenue could surge by another 30–37%.”

YouTube Premium doesn’t have a product problem — it has a communication problem. For users who’ve taken the leap, it’s sticky, satisfying, and surprisingly versatile. But for the rest of India, it remains invisible, misunderstood, or simply unnecessary. Unless YouTube can shift the narrative from “remove the annoyance” to “unlock a better experience,” the service will remain beloved by a few and bypassed by the many.

Read More:<a href="http://YouTube to invest Rs 850 crore into Indian creators: Neal Mohan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">YouTube to invest Rs 850 crore into Indian creators: Neal Mohan</a>

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/your-tragedy-their-ad-has-digital-advertising-lost-its-soul-63832.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Your tragedy, their ad: Has digital advertising lost its soul?</a>

YouTube Premium's muffled pitch: Why a "sound strategy" isn't converting in India

India’s influence on global technology leadership has never been more prominent, and it’s not just about IIT degrees or Silicon Valley success. What’s striking is how many of today’s most powerful tech leaders hail from small towns and non-metro cities across India, bringing with them not just technical excellence but deeply rooted Indian values, resilience and global ambition.

The latest addition to this growing list is Sabih Khan, who has just been named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple. Born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Khan has been with Apple for over 30 years, leading its global supply chain, pioneering green manufacturing efforts and steering the company through turbulent times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

He joins a formidable list of Indian-origin tech leaders who are reshaping the global tech landscape:

- Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, guiding innovation in AI and data, was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

- Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, credited with reinventing the company’s culture and product vision, hails from Hyderabad, Telangana.

- Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, instrumental in driving Adobe’s digital transformation, is from Hyderabad, Telangana.

- Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM, known for his work on cloud computing and blockchain, was born West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

- Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, named Cloud Wars CEO of the Year for 2024, comes from Pampady, Kerala.

- Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology, also co-founder of SanDisk with over 70 patents, was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

- Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, raised in a traditional Indian household in the US, with roots tracing back to India.

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/sabih-khan-joins-club-of-indian-origin-tech-leaders-becomes-apple-coo-74032.htm">Apple's new COO Sabih Khan joins club of Indian-origin global tech leaders</a>

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/analysts-bet-on-continuity-and-consumer-focus-with-priya-nair-at-hul-74028.htm">Analysts bet on continuity and consumer focus with Priya Nair at HUL</a>

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/she-taught-me-purpose-how-priya-nairs-mother-shaped-huls-first-woman-ceo-73928.htm">'She taught me purpose': How Priya Nair’s mother shaped HUL’s first woman CEO</a>

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