India among most advanced AI markets, leads in coding, data use: OpenAI

OpenAI report says India ranks among top AI markets globally, with strong usage in coding and data analysis, though adoption remains concentrated in major cities

India ranks among the world’s most advanced markets for artificial intelligence (AI), particularly for coding, data analysis, and complex reasoning, OpenAI said on Wednesday. The company made these observations in the first capability gap findings report for India.

 

Though the country is among the top five nations globally in per-person thinking capability usage, with users regularly solving complex problems and interacting with AI at an advanced level, the adoption of the technology remains limited to the top few large cities and metros, the report said.

 

“In fact, India is one of the fastest-growing AI builder ecosystems globally, with 4x growth in Codex users in just two weeks after the launch of our Codex app in February 2026, as well as strong rankings in both coding and data analysis usage,” OpenAI noted in its report.

 

Across the country, Delhi and the nearby National Capital Region lead with the largest number of ChatGPT users, while in regions such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, the primary use cases are data analysis and coding.

 

“The central question now is how quickly the benefits of AI can extend beyond early adopters and leading cities to the wider population. Closing this gap will require expanding access, building skills, and enabling more meaningful use across the country, an effort shaped in large part by India’s young, fast-adopting population,” said Oliver Jay, managing director of international operations at OpenAI.

 

Across regions, the eastern states have seen increased use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT for education and learning, while in states such as Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala, engagement is higher for health and wellness-related topics.

 

“India’s data shows strong early pockets of advanced usage, alongside a large opportunity to broaden access so AI benefits are shared more evenly. The next phase of India’s AI journey will depend on how widely this capability spreads through the democratisation (language, affordability, infrastructure) of the technology,” the report noted.