Perplexity’s missing India domain redirects users to Google Gemini

A simple domain loophole sends Indian users to the rival AI service

by e4m Staff
Published: Nov 29, 2025 8:25 AM | 2 min read

AI chatbot Perplexity has landed in an unusual situation after users noticed that typing Perplexity.in into their browsers redirects them straight to Google’s Gemini. The unexpected redirect has sparked speculation that Google may inadvertently be benefiting from a basic oversight.

The Perplexity.in domain is available for anyone to buy for a nominal cost and can be manually redirected to any webpage, including Gemini. Individuals frequently purchase such domains in the hope of utilising them later, a practice that has become common across the internet.

Perplexity’s absence from the Indian domain registry also aligns with its broader strategy. The company typically functions under Perplexity.ai and Perplexity.com and does not own country-specific domains in the United Kingdom, Germany or even the United States, despite its San Francisco base. The lack of an Indian domain could simply reflect this existing approach rather than an operational miss.

The redirect has surfaced at a notable moment, coinciding with Perplexity’s efforts to strengthen its India footprint, including a partnership with Airtel to provide Perplexity Pro services to its users. The situation also mirrors earlier domain-related incidents in India, such as the JioHotstar episode where an external developer acquired the domain before the companies could act.

For now, the Perplexity.in redirect continues to funnel users toward Google’s competing AI platform, leaving open whether Perplexity will eventually move to secure the domain.