ChatGPT ads roll out in India: Who will see them and how will they work?

OpenAI will start showing ads to users aged 18 and above on ChatGPT's Free and Go plans in India

Millions of ChatGPT users in India will start seeing advertisements within their conversations as OpenAI expands its advertising programme to one of its biggest markets.

 

OpenAI on Thursday said ChatGPT Ads will be available to users aged 18 and above on its Free and Go plans. Users on paid Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education plans will continue to use ChatGPT without ads. The company said advertisements will not be shown next to sensitive or regulated subjects, including health, mental health and politics.

 

ChatGPT had 330 million unique monthly users in India in May 2026, up from 297 million in December 2025, making the country one of its largest markets.

 

 

Who will see ads on ChatGPT in India?

 

Ads will be shown to logged-in users aged 18 and above on the Free and Go tiers. The Go plan costs ₹399 a month in India.

 

When relevant, users may see a sponsored product or service below a ChatGPT response. OpenAI said these advertisements will be clearly marked as sponsored and kept visually separate from the AI-generated answer.

 

Users subscribed to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education will not see ads.

 

How will ChatGPT ads work?

 

As in the US and European markets, ads in India will appear below an AI-generated response only when OpenAI finds a relevant sponsored product or service.

 

OpenAI said the ads will not affect how ChatGPT generates answers. The response will continue to be based on what the system considers most useful to the user.  

Who are OpenAI's ad partners in India?

 

OpenAI has selected WPP and Omnicom as its first agency partners for ChatGPT Ads in India. The company said the agencies were chosen for their relationships with brands across sectors and their experience in areas such as strategy, creative work, measurement, brand safety and campaign execution. OpenAI plans to add more agency partners over time.

 

OpenAI will also launch self-serve access to ChatGPT Ads Manager in India from September 4. This will allow businesses of different sizes to advertise directly, with daily budgets starting at ₹725.

 

Will ads influence ChatGPT's answers?

 

OpenAI said advertisers will not be able to influence ChatGPT's responses. The chatbot's answers will continue to be optimised around what is most helpful to users.

 

Advertisers will not have access to users' conversations, chat history, memories or personal information. OpenAI also said it does not sell user data to advertisers.

 

Instead, advertisers will receive aggregated information about campaign performance, such as the number of impressions and clicks.

 

Ads will not be displayed on accounts identified as belonging to users under 18. They will also be kept away from sensitive or regulated subjects, including health, mental health and politics.

 

When did ChatGPT start showing ads?

 

OpenAI announced plans to test advertising in ChatGPT in January as part of an effort to diversify its revenue sources and support future growth. The first ad pilot began in the US in February. It crossed $100 million in annualised revenue within six weeks of its launch.

 

OpenAI later expanded the programme to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea.

 

Last week, the company extended ChatGPT Ads to 31 European countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

 

OpenAI said it plans to introduce more ad formats, campaign objectives and buying options in the future while improving the relevance of advertisements.

 

Why are ads important for OpenAI?

 

The expansion comes as OpenAI looks to build new sources of revenue from the large number of people who use ChatGPT for free or through lower-priced plans.

 

OpenAI is also preparing for a possible public market debut later this year or early next year. In June, the company reportedly filed confidentially for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following a similar move by rival Anthropic and shortly before SpaceX's major stock market debut.

 

Advertising could become an important part of OpenAI's business as the company seeks to monetise its large free user base.

 

According to a Wall Street Journal report, OpenAI's revenue rose to $6.7 billion in the quarter ended June, from $5.7 billion in the March quarter. However, its operating loss, including stock-based compensation, increased to $12.3 billion in the second quarter of 2026 from $9.3 billion in the first quarter.