OpenAI has officially expanded its ChatGPT advertising programme to India, making the country one of the latest markets where users will see sponsored content within the AI chatbot. Under the initial rollout, ads will be shown to logged in adult users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go plans. Sponsored products and services will appear below relevant ChatGPT responses and will be clearly marked as advertisements, keeping them visually separate from the chatbot’s answers. More than 50 brands are expected to go live with advertisements in India this week. OpenAI has partnered with advertising giants WPP and Omnicom as its first agency partners in the country, with both companies expected to support brands with campaign strategy, creative work, measurement and execution.

For users, the introduction means ChatGPT will increasingly become part of the advertising and product discovery ecosystem. Ads are expected to be particularly relevant when users are researching products, comparing services or exploring options before making a decision. OpenAI has maintained that advertisements will remain separate from ChatGPT’s responses and will not influence the answers generated by the chatbot. The company has also said advertisers will not receive access to users’ conversations, chat history, memories or personal information. The rollout does not apply to every ChatGPT subscriber. Users on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education plans will continue to have an ad free experience.

OpenAI is also preparing to expand access for Indian advertisers. A self serve ChatGPT Ads Manager is scheduled to open on September 4, allowing businesses to create and manage campaigns directly, with reported daily budgets starting at ₹725. The move marks a significant step in OpenAI’s efforts to build advertising as a new revenue stream while continuing to offer free and lower cost access to ChatGPT. India is an especially important market for the company, with OpenAI saying its weekly active users in the country have doubled year-on-year. With more than 50 brands entering the platform during the initial rollout, ChatGPT is now emerging as a new advertising destination where brands can reach consumers while they are actively researching, comparing and making purchasing decisions.