PayPal has partnered with Perplexity to give away a free AI subscription. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
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If you missed out on the free Perplexity Pro subscription offer to all U.S.-based Samsung galaxy phone owners, or the free Perplexity Pro student offer, then the AI company has one more free trial option via PayPal and Venmo.
PayPal and Venmo users will get free access to Perplexity Pro, an AI chatbot, and early access to Comet, Perplexity’s new web browser that builds AI into the browsing experience. The package is worth $200 per year but free to users of the respective payment apps in select countries, until December 31st 2025, with more countries being included in the promotion this month, PayPal said.
To check if you’re eligible, open the PayPal app and head to the new subscriptions hub tab, where the offer can be found.
The subscriptions hub is a new feature that has been announced alongside the Comet invite and free Perplexity Pro offer. This comes as the AI company continues to spread its service, for free, to as many users as possible through partnerships with major technology companies.
In June, Samsung and Perplexity announced a partnership that saw the chatbot service being gifted to millions of Galaxy phone and tablet users in the U.S. Bloomberg reported that the two companies were in talks to have the service integrated into Galaxy phones, alongside Google Gemini. Apple, too, has held internal conversations about potentially acquiring Perplexity.
Last year, the AI company gave away a year’s subscription of the Pro tier to students at 45 universities in its “Race to Infinity” promotion. That was eventually scrapped, but clearly there’s a battle to hook students on to AI chatbots as school returned this month.
Google is offering a free Gemini Pro plan to students, while Microsoft is running a three-month free trial promotion of 365 Personal, which comes with Co-Pilot. Samsung, too, is now offering one year of Google AI Pro to tablet shoppers, whereas phone buyers only get six months.
It’s Not Just PayPal, Why Are Tech Partnering With Perplexity?
EDMONTON, CANADA – APRIL 20: An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of a Perplexity AI logo displayed on a computer screen, on April 20, 2024, in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Perplexity’s schtick is that it focuses on research accuracy, using citations so its work can easily be checked. While Gemini, ChatGPT and other AI services can perform these search functions, they have a tendency to get easily verifiable facts wrong. Anyone with experience of these chatbots will have seen this first-hand. This is partially why the likes of Google and OpenAI talk up their products’ creative abilities, such as image generation and human-like conversations over simple, accurate search queries.
Perplexity’s supposed research accuracy sets it apart. Hence the company’s heavy focus on students. It is also the missing piece for mobile AI services. More confidence in the quality of AI responses justifies the AI pivot (and huge associated cost) Google, Samsung and Apple have made in the last two years. Many people will experience AI for the first time through their smartphone: these companies will want that interaction to be factual and accurate.
How correct Perplexity’s output is still questionable, though. Merriam-Webster and its parent company, Encyclopedia Britannica, are suing the AI startup for trademark infringement, claiming that Perplexity attaches the two companies’ names to false or inaccurate answers.
The lawsuit also alleges that Perplexity’s “answer engine” plagiarises copyrighted material and “starves web publishers of revenue” by providing answers without users needing to click through.
While partnerships, such as PayPal’s free offer, may bring less scrutiny. The outcome of these lawsuits, and other similar cases from The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, alongside controversies around crawling blocked sites, may impact how the likes of Apple and Samsung proceed with integrating Perplexity into their ecosystems.