6 days ago
OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to India’s Free and Go Users
OpenAI is starting to show advertisements inside ChatGPT for some people in India.
The ads will be shown to logged-in adults using the Free or Go plans.
The Go plan costs Rs 399 per month in India.
Ads will appear below ChatGPT’s answers and will be clearly labelled.
People using several more expensive plans will not see advertisements.
OpenAI says advertisers cannot read chats, memories, or personal information.
Users will be able to dismiss ads, give feedback, and manage some personalisation settings.
Ads will not be shown to minors or next to topics such as health, mental health, or politics.
OpenAI says the change will help create more revenue as it expands its business and considers an IPO.
OpenAI is rolling out clearly labelled ChatGPT advertisements in India for logged-in adults using the Free and Go tiers.
Ads will appear below responses, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education subscribers will remain ad-free.
More than 50 brands are expected to launch campaigns, with WPP and Omnicom serving as initial non-exclusive agency partners.
Businesses will receive self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager access from September 4, with daily budgets starting at Rs 725.
OpenAI says advertisers cannot access chats or personal data, and ads will be excluded for minors and sensitive topics.
- Who
- OpenAI, ChatGPT users in India, advertisers, and agency partners WPP and Omnicom.
- What
- OpenAI is introducing ChatGPT Ads for logged-in adults using the Free and Go tiers in India.
- Where
- Within ChatGPT in India, with advertisements displayed below relevant responses.
- When
- The rollout is beginning now, with self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager access planned for September 4.
- Why
- OpenAI says the advertising business will diversify revenue and support expansion as the company considers a possible public-market debut.
OpenAI and Advertiser Opportunity
User Experience and Privacy Concerns
Revenue and growth
OpenAI and Advertiser Opportunity
OpenAI presents ads as a way to diversify revenue, support expansion, and give businesses a new channel to reach potential customers in a rapidly growing market.
User Experience and Privacy Concerns
The rollout changes how a widely used free AI service looks and feels, potentially affecting people who use ChatGPT to search, learn, compare options, and make decisions.
Answer independence
OpenAI and Advertiser Opportunity
OpenAI says advertisements will not influence ChatGPT’s responses, which will continue to be based on what is considered useful to users rather than what benefits advertisers.
User Experience and Privacy Concerns
Because ads are being placed within a conversational service, users may still question how sponsored content relates to the answers and recommendations they receive.
Privacy and controls
OpenAI and Advertiser Opportunity
OpenAI says advertisers cannot access conversations, chat history, memories, or personal information; users can dismiss ads, provide feedback, manage personalisation, and clear advertising-related data.
User Experience and Privacy Concerns
The arrival of advertising raises continuing questions about privacy and data use, even though OpenAI says it does not sell user data and provides separation and control measures.
Key facts
- Eligible users
- Logged-in adults on ChatGPT’s Free and Go tiers.
- Go tier price
- Rs 399 per month in India.
- Ad placement
- Below ChatGPT responses, clearly labelled and visually separated from AI-generated answers.
- Ad-free plans
- Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education.
- Initial advertisers
- More than 50 brands are expected to go live during the launch week.
- Agency partners
- WPP and Omnicom are OpenAI’s first non-exclusive agency partners in India.
- Self-serve budget
- ChatGPT Ads Manager campaigns will start at Rs 725 per day from September 4.
- India usage
- OpenAI reported more than 100 million weekly users in India as of February 2026.
Quotes
Dave Dugan
OpenAI’s Vice President and Head of Global Ads Solutions
“Our goal is to make those interactions useful, help marketers design for intelligent experiences, and preserve what makes ChatGPT valuable: independent answers, conversations that stay private from advertisers, and meaningful user control.”
thehansindia.com
“India is one of the most dynamic markets in the world for how people use ChatGPT to learn, build, and discover.”
thehansindia.com






