OpenAI is bringing advertisements to ChatGPT users in India, starting with people on the Free and Go subscription tiers. The company announced the move on Thursday, marking another major expansion of its growing advertising business.
The decision follows a recent change to OpenAI’s terms of service that indicated users could see advertisements while using ChatGPT. India is an especially important market for the company, with OpenAI saying in February that ChatGPT had more than 100 million weekly active users in the country.
Most of those users are believed to be on the free or lower-priced Go plans, making India a significant opportunity for OpenAI as it looks to build advertising into its business.
OpenAI said it will initially launch ads from 50 brands in India. The company has partnered with advertising agencies WPP and Omnicom as part of the rollout.
The company is also preparing an advertising manager that will allow businesses to create and manage their own ChatGPT advertising campaigns. OpenAI plans to launch the tool next month, with advertisers required to spend at least ₹725, or about $7.60, per day.
“With ChatGPT Ads, businesses of every size can introduce themselves at relevant, high-context moments when decisions are beginning to take shape,” Dave Dugan, OpenAI’s head of global ads solutions, said in a statement.
India has become an increasingly important market for OpenAI. The company launched ChatGPT Go in August 2025 at a price below $5, giving users a cheaper way to access additional ChatGPT features. OpenAI also ran a limited promotion that gave eligible users a full year of ChatGPT Go for free.
The company has also increased its visibility in India through advertising around major sporting events, including the Women’s Premier League and Indian Premier League cricket tournaments. More recently, OpenAI hired Uber’s India head to oversee its expansion in the country.
The advertising rollout in India follows OpenAI’s earlier moves in other markets. The company began showing ads to users in the United States in February and expanded its advertising program to Europe earlier this month.
OpenAI is increasingly looking at advertising as another way to generate revenue as it prepares for a potential initial public offering, which could happen this year or next.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI generated $6.7 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2026, up from $5.7 billion in the previous quarter.
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The company is also pursuing aggressive growth in paid subscriptions. The Information reported last November that OpenAI was targeting 220 million paying subscribers by 2030. At the time, around 35 million users were paying for ChatGPT Plus and Pro plans.
OpenAI Starts Showing Ads on ChatGPT Free and Go Plans in India
