India overtakes the United States as ChatGPT’s largest market, user base doubled in 10 months

India has surpassed the US to become ChatGPT’s biggest market by weekly active users, with its user base doubling over the course of 10 months.

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India has surpassed the United States to become the biggest market for ChatGPT worldwide in terms of weekly active users. Prabhjeet Singh, Managing Director of OpenAI India, confirmed this in an interview with The Economic Times on November 3, 2026.

Singh further disclosed that ChatGPT’s user base in India has doubled since January 2026. This expansion underscores how rapidly people nationwide are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) for education, work, coding, business and daily tasks.

The milestone represents a significant shift in ChatGPT’s global user landscape. In February 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that India had over 100 million weekly active users, ranking it as the platform’s second-largest market behind the United States.

India has now climbed to the top spot. This development also reinforces the country’s significance in OpenAI’s global growth strategy.

Notably, OpenAI has not disclosed a new exact weekly user count alongside this latest update. Thus, the confirmed milestone is the doubling of India’s user base since January and its standing as the largest market by weekly active users.

India’s climb to the top is the result of affordable access, a vast digital population and rising interest in practical AI applications.

A number of developments have contributed to ChatGPT reaching more users throughout the country.

1. Budget-Friendly ChatGPT Subscription Options

Pricing has been instrumental in broadening ChatGPT’s reach across India. In August 2025, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go, a cheaper subscription aimed at markets where users might be less inclined to pay for premium AI services.

In November 2025, OpenAI additionally offered ChatGPT Go free for a year to eligible users in India who registered during the promotional period. This effort enabled more individuals to discover advanced ChatGPT features without paying for a subscription right away.

Affordable access has been especially crucial in a market that is sensitive to price. It has also assisted OpenAI in reaching students, young professionals, creators, and small businesses.

2. Rising Adoption Among Students and Young Professionals

Students are one of the key user groups fueling ChatGPT’s growth in India. They rely on AI tools for studying, research, writing, coding, and grasping complex topics.

OpenAI has previously stated that India had the highest number of ChatGPT student users worldwide. CEO Sam Altman also pointed to the strong uptake of AI among younger users.

In addition, professionals are increasingly turning to ChatGPT to draft documents, analyze information, brainstorm ideas, and handle routine work tasks.

This move from casual experimentation to regular use has helped turn AI assistants into part of everyday digital habits.

3. Additional Practical Applications in Various Industries

ChatGPT is no longer used only for general questions and content creation. Users are now exploring what it can do for coding, data analysis, business planning and productivity.

Prabhjeet Singh, OpenAI India MD, says that the increasing use of ChatGPT shows people are discovering deeper and more relevant applications for the technology.

As more users find practical benefits, ChatGPT could become a regular tool for education, entrepreneurship and professional work.

The newest announcement takes on greater significance when set against OpenAI’s previous disclosures.

Below is a timeline of ChatGPT’s expansion in India:

The February figure of 100 million weekly active users serves as a significant reference point. Nevertheless, the November announcement does not reveal the most recent exact number of users.

As a result, it would be incorrect to conclude that India currently has exactly 200 million weekly ChatGPT users. OpenAI has verified the growth rate and market ranking, but not a new absolute number.

What Is the Meaning of Weekly Active Users?

Weekly active users are the people who open and use ChatGPT at least once within a seven-day span.

This figure counts users across both free and paid subscriptions. It offers a measure of ongoing engagement with the platform, rather than just tallying app downloads or registered accounts.

Even with its fast expansion, OpenAI identifies considerable opportunities to connect with more people in India.

Access to language and devices continues to be a major challenge. A large number of Indians do not primarily use English, and some users rely on entry-level Android smartphones to access digital services.

Prabhjeet Singh states that OpenAI is concentrating on three areas to tackle these challenges.

1. Broadening Support for Indian Languages and Voice

OpenAI aims to make ChatGPT more accessible by improving support for Hindi and other Indian languages.

Voice-based interactions can also assist users who find speaking more comfortable than typing. This could make AI tools simpler to use across various age groups and regions.

2. Enhancing Performance on Budget Android Devices

India boasts a vast Android user base, encompassing individuals who rely on smartphones with constrained storage and processing power.

OpenAI is concentrating on enhancing the product experience for budget-friendly devices. It is additionally adopting an Android-first strategy to better cater to the nation’s mobile users.

3. Extending Reach to Users Outside Major Cities

AI adoption in India is growing beyond the main technology centers. Developers and other users in Tier-II cities are likewise trying out AI tools for work and learning.

Better language support and more accessible devices could enable OpenAI to reach more people in smaller cities and towns.

An expanding user base also drives demand for dependable computing infrastructure. Serving millions of users calls for substantial data centre capacity, robust security and efficient processing systems.

To meet this need, OpenAI is broadening its infrastructure partnerships across India.

A key development is its collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) via its HyperVault data centre business. The initial commitment covers 100 megawatts of AI-ready capacity, with room to scale up to one gigawatt under the wider infrastructure plans.

Local computing infrastructure could help OpenAI satisfy enterprise requirements, especially where data residency and security matter.

Growing enterprise AI adoption.

OpenAI is likewise turning its attention to companies that aim to go past AI experiments and bring practical solutions into their operations.

Businesses in various industries are examining AI for customer support, research, software development, data analysis, and workflow automation.

The company has further emphasized adoption by enterprises and startups in India, including deployments with businesses such as JioHotstar and Cars24.

This opens up an opportunity for OpenAI to establish a stronger business presence alongside its large base of consumer users.

With ChatGPT’s user base growing, OpenAI is looking into other ways to expand its business in India.

Advertising and digital payments are two key areas.

1. Advertising on ChatGPT in India

OpenAI has started rolling out advertising on ChatGPT’s Free and Go plans in India. To help Indian brands take part in its advertising ecosystem, the company has teamed up with Razorpay.

This partnership is intended to assist with campaign preparation, product catalogues and campaign measurement. Among the brands taking part early are Tanishq, Fastrack, Traya, Tata Neu and Shaadi.com.

OpenAI has stated that advertising will not affect ChatGPT’s answers, and that advertisers will not be given access to users’ personal conversations.

Advertising could help fund free and lower-priced access while also opening up another revenue stream for the company.

2. Integration of UPI and Digital Payments

OpenAI is likewise looking into ways to make payments easier within ChatGPT

Singh said that announcements concerning UPI and payments were anticipated in the weeks ahead. This expands on an earlier pilot that involved OpenAI, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and Razorpay.

The pilot examined how users might make purchases and finish payments through ChatGPT conversations by using payment features linked to UPI.

If it is expanded successfully, these capabilities could make AI assistants more helpful for daily activities, such as discovering products and shopping.

Even though India has grown into ChatGPT’s biggest market by weekly active users, turning that scale into revenue is still a significant challenge.

India is a market where price sensitivity is high. Many users favor free services or cheaper subscriptions, which can make monetisation harder for technology companies.

Yet the opportunity is substantial. As users grow more accustomed to AI, some may be willing to pay for advanced features that offer clear value.

OpenAI can pursue several revenue opportunities:

• Paid subscriptions: Providing premium features to professionals, developers and businesses.
• Enterprise services: Delivering AI solutions to companies with larger operational requirements.
• Advertising: Sustaining free and affordable plans through brand partnerships.
• Payments and commerce: Exploring transaction-related opportunities via AI-powered experiences.

The challenge will lie in balancing revenue growth with affordable access. OpenAI must also preserve user trust through responsible data practices and transparent advertising policies.

India becoming ChatGPT’s largest market marks a significant milestone for the global AI industry. This demonstrates that AI adoption is spreading quickly well beyond conventional technology markets.

The country’s young population, widening internet access, a growing startup ecosystem and demand for digital services together create major opportunities for AI companies.

Meanwhile, India’s success could shape the way global technology companies design their products. Local languages, affordable subscriptions, mobile-first experiences and accessible infrastructure may grow increasingly important.

For Indian businesses, this growth also opens up opportunities to apply AI in productivity, customer engagement, research and innovation.

Still, broader adoption has to go hand in hand with responsible use of AI. Data privacy, cybersecurity, misinformation and the reliability of AI-generated information continue to be major concerns.

India climbing to the top of ChatGPT’s global user rankings is a significant milestone for OpenAI. The country’s user base has doubled since January 2026, reflecting the increasing importance of AI tools in daily life.

OpenAI is now turning its attention to the next phase of growth. Its priorities include enhancing support for Indian languages, reaching more Android users, expanding local computing infrastructure and forging stronger enterprise partnerships.

The company is also looking into advertising and payment-related opportunities to bolster its business in India.

Overall, India’s emergence as ChatGPT’s largest market underscores the country’s growing influence on the global AI ecosystem. OpenAI’s next challenge will be converting this enormous user adoption into long-term engagement, business value and sustainable revenue.