OpenAI launches ads on the Free and Go plans of ChatGPT in India
OpenAI is introducing ads on the Free and Go plans of ChatGPT in India – initially for 50 brands through agencies WPP and Omnicom, with its own ad manager from September 2026 and a minimum budget of ₹725/day. The company reports over 100 million weekly active users in India.
OpenAI announced that it will start showing ads in India on the free (Free) and paid low-cost (Go) plans of ChatGPT. The move follows an earlier change to the terms of use, under which the company will show users ads while they use the assistant. According to the company, OpenAI has over 100 million weekly active users in India, a large share of whom use the Free or cheaper Go plan.
In its first phase, the program includes ads from 50 brands, and the company is working with advertising agencies WPP and Omnicom on it. In September 2026, OpenAI is expected to launch its own advertising management tool (ad manager), which will allow marketers to create their own campaigns with a minimum daily budget of ₹725 (approximately 7.60 USD). According to Dave Dugan, head of global advertising solutions at OpenAI, ads in ChatGPT are intended to allow businesses to reach users “at relevant moments with rich context, when decisions are only just beginning to take shape”.
India has long been a priority market for OpenAI – in August 2025, the company launched the ChatGPT Go plan for less than 5 USD, temporarily offered it free for a full year, and advertised heavily during the WPL and IPL cricket tournaments. It also recently hired the former head of the Indian branch of Uber to lead the company's expansion in the country. The advertising program expands an initiative that OpenAI launched in the USA in February 2026 and recently extended to Europe as well.
According to Wall Street Journal, OpenAI recorded revenue of 6.7 billion USD in the second quarter ending in June 2026, an increase from 5.7 billion USD in the previous quarter. According to an earlier report by The Information, the company plans to reach 220 million paying subscribers by 2030; last November, it reportedly had 35 million on the Plus and Pro plans.
Why it matters
A new advertising space is emerging for businesses directly within a conversational AI assistant with a large user base, accessible even with a small budget. For users, this signals that free and low-cost plans of ChatGPT will increasingly be funded by advertising, which could suggest a similar development in other markets.
Two audiences, two different impacts
What this means
For individuals
Users of the Free and Go plans of ChatGPT in India will start seeing ads in the product; this suggests a direction that the monetization of free AI assistant plans could also take in other markets.
More practical updates →For a business
A new advertising channel within ChatGPT in India is opening up for businesses – initially through agencies WPP and Omnicom for the first 50 brands, then from September 2026 through a dedicated OpenAI ad manager with a minimum daily budget of ₹725 (approx. 7.60 USD).
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