OpenAI is rolling out ChatGPT Ads in India — its second-largest market globally — targeting logged-in adult users on the Free and Go tiers, the company announced on 27 August. The expansion is part of a broader push to diversify revenue ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO).

How the Ads Will Work

Sponsored content will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT responses, clearly labelled and visually distinct from the AI's answers. The Go tier, priced at ₹399 per month in India, falls within the ad-supported bracket alongside the free plan. Users on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education tiers will continue to receive an ad-free experience.

OpenAI has stated that advertisers will not have access to users' chats, chat history, memories, or personal details. Instead, advertisers receive only aggregate campaign-performance data — such as impressions and clicks — and the company has confirmed it does not sell user data to advertisers.

Privacy and Content Safeguards

Ads will not be displayed on accounts where the user has indicated they are under 18, or where OpenAI determines the user is a minor. The company has also excluded sensitive or regulated subject areas — including health, mental health, and politics — from ad placements, a move aimed at pre-empting regulatory scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.

India Rollout and Advertiser Access

Over 50 brands were expected to go live with ChatGPT Ads in India this week. OpenAI plans to offer self-serve access to the ChatGPT Ads Manager in India from 4 September, with businesses able to sign up for daily budgets starting at ₹725. India's user base — more than 100 million weekly users as of February 2026, spanning students, developers, educators, and enterprises — makes it a strategically critical advertising market for the company.

Global Expansion Context

OpenAI first announced plans to test ads within ChatGPT in January 2026. The pilot launched in the United States in February and crossed the $100 million annualised revenue mark within six weeks. It has since expanded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea. Last week, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT Ads across 31 European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. ChatGPT crossed the 1 billion weekly global user mark earlier this month, underlining the scale of the platform on which these ads will now appear.

What This Means for Users and Advertisers

For Indian advertisers, self-serve access with a low entry-level daily budget of ₹725 lowers the barrier significantly, opening the platform to small and medium businesses alongside large brands. For users, the ad experience is positioned as non-intrusive — bottom-of-response placement rather than mid-answer interruption. Whether that framing holds as ad volumes scale will be a key test of user trust in the platform.