Ads in ChatGPT to roll out across India: Who will see them, what it means for OpenAI

The move gives Indian businesses “new ways to reach people when they are exploring options, comparing choices, or working toward a decision,” the company said in a statement.

It also said that advertising revenue helps OpenAI’s “continued investment in free and affordable access to relevant AI tools.” With over 100 million weekly active users, India was one of the first markets to get ChatGPT Go, its Rs 399 per month paid subscription plan that was free of charge for one year to eligible users as part of a limited promotional offer.

Ads in ChatGPT were first introduced as a testing pilot in the US in February 2026. Microsoft Copilot and Google’s AI Overviews also feature ads, highlighting how advertising remains an attractive revenue model even in the AI era. One notable exception, however, has been Anthropic. The Claude-maker has vowed that its AI chatbot will remain ad-free.

What is OpenAI’s ads model in India?

OpenAI has said that it has partnered with ad agencies WPP and Omnicom to start showing ads from over 50 brands to ChatGPT users in the country this week. The partnership is non-exclusive and OpenAI said it will work with other agencies in the near future.

A preview of how ads will appear in ChatGPT conversations. (Image: OpenAI)

For businesses looking to advertise on ChatGPT, OpenAI said that its self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager will become available from September 4, 2026. Businesses of all sizes are allowed to sign up with daily ad budgets starting at Rs 725.

“With ChatGPT Ads, businesses of every size can introduce themselves at relevant, high-context moments when decisions are beginning to take shape,” Dave Dugan, Vice President and Head of Global Ads Solutions, OpenAI, said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

What are OpenAI’s ground rules for ChatGPT Ads?

OpenAI has laid out certain principles that will guide its approach to showing ads within ChatGPT.

The company has said it will not sell user data or expose their conversations with ChatGPT to advertisers. Unlike with targeted ads, advertisers will not be able to see information about a user’s age, location, or interests.

Advertisers will, however, receive aggregate campaign-performance data, such as impressions and clicks, to improve their marketing.

Users will also be able to dismiss ads, provide feedback, and understand why an ad was shown. Since ChatGPT users can personalise the chatbot by asking it to remember certain personal traits and hobbies, some of that personalisation data may reportedly be used to serve ads. “You can turn off personalisation, and you can clear the data used for ads at any time,” OpenAI said.

Can advertising drive OpenAI’s growth?

OpenAI’s second-quarter revenue has shown sluggish growth compared to Anthropic, according to a recent report by Wall Street Journal.

The startup reportedly informed its private shareholders that its revenue grew by 18 per cent from the first quarter ($5.7 billion) to $6.7 billion in the three months ended in June, while its losses deepened. Anthropic, on the other hand, more than doubled its revenue to $11.6 billion in the same period driven by sales of its hit coding tool, Claude Code.

Whether ads in ChatGPT can help OpenAI catch up to Anthropic remains to be seen. The company is reportedly projecting $100 billion in annual ad revenue by 2030. It is unclear what data OpenAI collects on users to serve relevant ads.

“The real advantage is the quality of intent captured in the conversation. OpenAI positions ChatGPT Ads around users who are exploring, comparing, and deciding. However, that does not automatically justify a premium, particularly in a price-sensitive market such as India,” Kunal Kothari, Chairman, founder and COO at Mobavenue, an AI-led advertising, marketing, and consumer media platform, told The Indian Express. 

“Advertisers will pay more only if this richer context translates into measurable outcomes- higher-quality clicks, stronger consideration, better conversion rates or lower customer acquisition costs. If ChatGPT can combine high intent with proven outcomes, it could command a premium,” Kothari added.

“Most AI companies are running at a loss right now because of free tiers, and even a $20 subscription doesn’t come close to covering the compute needed to run these models,” Paramdeep Singh, co-founder of global enterprise AI firm Shorthills AI, said.

“So there are really only two levers, raise subscription prices or bring in ads, and raising prices risks pushing usage down. Ads are the more realistic lever in the near term, but the real question is whether ad revenue can scale as fast as compute costs do. That’s still unproven,” Singh further said.