New Delhi: Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced a global-first partnership with Adobe to offer free access to Adobe Express Premium to its 360 million customers in India, as the telecom major steps up efforts to deepen customer engagement through bundled digital services.
Under the partnership, Airtel customers across mobile, broadband and DTH platforms will receive complimentary access to Adobe Express Premium—valued at around ₹4,000 per user for a year—through the Airtel Thanks app, without the need for a credit card.
Adobe Express is an AI-powered design platform that enables users to create social media content, marketing material, short videos and other visual assets using professional templates, generative AI tools and premium stock content. Airtel said the offering is aimed at democratising access to high-quality creative tools for students, small businesses, creators and everyday consumers.
“This partnership is about empowering millions of Indians with cutting-edge AI tools to create and innovate,” said Siddharth Sharma, CEO – Connected Homes and Director – Marketing, Bharti Airtel, adding that world-class creative capabilities should no longer be limited to professional designers.
The offering includes access to thousands of templates tailored for Indian use cases, AI-powered features such as background removal and image generation, premium fonts and assets, cloud storage, and multi-language support including Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.
For Airtel, the move fits into a broader strategy of bundling high-value digital services to reduce churn and increase usage of its app ecosystem, at a time when core telecom tariffs remain under pressure. Similar partnerships in the past have included OTT streaming platforms, cloud storage and financial services.
Adobe said the partnership would help accelerate India’s growing creator economy by lowering entry barriers and enabling users to produce professional-quality content with ease.
The collaboration also highlights how telcos are increasingly positioning themselves as digital platforms, leveraging partnerships with global technology firms to move beyond connectivity and tap into adjacent revenue and engagement opportunities.