After a dream run, Zoho-run Arattai loses traction on app stores in India

Zoho's messaging app loses momentum after a strong patriotic push, while AI-powered Perplexity sustains top rankings across Google Play and challenges ChatGPT in India

After a dream run backed by a Made in India fervour for nearly two weeks, when Zoho-run messaging platform Arattai hit and sustained the No. 1 spot in downloads on Google Play Store, it has seen a sharp fall, letting Meta-run WhatsApp go ahead of its new rival once again. 

However, it is the US-headquartered, artificial intelligence-based search engine application (app) Perplexity, cofounded by Aravind Srinivas and two others and already valued at $20 billion, that seems to have caught the fancy of Indians. It hogged the top slot from October 13 to date — except for one day when it dropped to No. 2 — and has shown consistent performance through September and October. 

According to Sensor Tower numbers, Arattai, which was No. 1 from October 3-11 in downloads across all free apps, saw its rank drop sharply to 47th on October 20, falling further to 75th on October 24, 78th the next day, and 80th on October 26. The sharp fall from the top position helped WhatsApp go ahead of Arattai, taking the 17th, 20th, 19th, and 21st ranks respectively on the corresponding dates. 

To put this into perspective, WhatsApp already has an active base of over 600 million customers, compared to estimates that Arattai reached 7.5 million downloads by early October — when the platform received endorsements from Cabinet ministers to leading corporate figures like Anand Mahindra. The trend is also repeated on the Apple Store, where Arattai, which was at the top slot from September 27 to October 7, dropped to 21st on October 17, falling further to 58th on October 25. The good news, however, is that WhatsApp remained behind Arattai in ranking on all these days. 

On the other hand, Perplexity has shown consistent performance in downloads. It has been among the top four overall most downloaded apps on Google Play Store for nearly a month since September 27.

 

Not only that, it has relegated ChatGPT to the No. 2 or 3 position in downloads in India among all apps throughout the period when it held the top slot. 

However, for Apple iPhone users, their choice continues to be ChatGPT, which has been substantially ahead of Perplexity in rankings when it comes to downloads. For instance, on October 26, while ChatGPT ranked 8th in overall downloads according to Sensor Tower, Perplexity was behind at 22nd.

 

Perplexity, according to estimates, has over 22 million active users in 2025, and the app, as of mid-October, has been downloaded 13.9 million times since its launch. Also, in a tieup with Airtel, eligible customers can get a 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription — a factor that likely pushed its usage.