OpenAI has started displaying advertisements to ChatGPT users in India, marking a new phase in the company’s efforts to generate revenue from its popular artificial intelligence chatbot. The advertising rollout is aimed at logged-in adult users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go plans.
The move comes as OpenAI looks to build new revenue streams around ChatGPT while expanding its presence in India. The company has been increasing its focus on the country as the use of generative artificial intelligence grows among consumers, developers and businesses.
Users on paid ChatGPT plans, including Plus and Pro, will continue to receive an ad-free experience. Business, Enterprise and Education users will also not see advertisements.
OpenAI has said the advertisements will be clearly separated from ChatGPT’s responses. The company’s AI-generated answers will not be influenced by advertisers, and businesses will not be able to pay to change how ChatGPT responds to users.
The first phase of the rollout includes more than 50 brands, with advertising agencies WPP and Omnicom working with OpenAI on the India launch. The company is also opening its advertising platform to businesses that want to create campaigns aimed at ChatGPT users.
The advertising model is different from traditional online advertising because ChatGPT users generally approach the service with a specific question or task. A person could use the chatbot to research a product, compare services, plan a purchase or find information before making a decision.
This creates an opportunity for advertisers to reach consumers while they are actively looking for information. At the same time, the presence of commercial content inside an AI chatbot raises questions about how clearly users can distinguish advertising from AI-generated information.
OpenAI has sought to address that concern by keeping advertisements separate from the main response generated by ChatGPT. The company has also said advertisers will not have access to users’ private conversations or be able to use them to influence responses.
The introduction of ads is part of a wider effort by OpenAI to monetise ChatGPT. The company has millions of users accessing its services without paying for a subscription, while operating advanced AI models requires significant computing infrastructure and costs.
Subscriptions remain an important source of revenue, particularly through paid consumer plans and business offerings. Advertising gives OpenAI another way to earn money from the large audience using its free services.
India is particularly important to this strategy. ChatGPT has gained significant traction in the country, where a large technology-savvy population and expanding internet access have contributed to rapid adoption of generative AI tools.
OpenAI has also been strengthening its local operations and looking at ways to expand its relationships with Indian businesses and developers. The company sees India as an important market for the future growth of its AI products.
The advertising launch comes as competition in the AI industry intensifies. OpenAI is competing with Google, Anthropic and several other companies for users, developers and corporate customers.
The battle is no longer limited to producing better AI models. Companies are also competing on pricing, computing capacity, enterprise products and ways of turning AI usage into sustainable businesses.
OpenAI’s move towards advertising comes against this backdrop. Instead of relying entirely on subscriptions, the company can potentially earn revenue from a much wider pool of users through sponsored content.
The development also comes as rival AI company Anthropic prepares for a possible public listing. The maker of Claude is reportedly planning to make its IPO prospectus public after the US Labor Day holiday, with a potential stock-market debut later this year.
Anthropic’s plans underline the growing financial expectations surrounding the AI industry. Investors are closely watching whether leading AI companies can convert rapid user growth and heavy investment in infrastructure into long-term revenue and profits.
OpenAI faces the same challenge. Its partnership with Microsoft and large-scale investments in computing infrastructure have helped it expand its AI services, but maintaining that growth requires significant and recurring spending.
The immediate impact on users in India will depend on how frequently advertisements appear and how they are presented within ChatGPT. Free and Go users will see the change, while those paying for higher-tier plans will retain an ad-free service.
The success of the model will ultimately depend on whether OpenAI can introduce advertising without affecting user trust or the usefulness of ChatGPT. Too many advertisements, unclear commercial labelling or interference with the user experience could undermine the value of the platform.
The India rollout is therefore significant beyond the advertisements themselves. It is an early test of whether AI assistants can become a new advertising platform and whether users will accept commercial messages as part of their everyday conversations with artificial intelligence.