OpenAI Opens ChatGPT Ads Manager to Indian Businesses

OpenAI is expanding its advertising ambitions in India by opening access to its self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager, giving businesses a new platform to reach potential customers through conversational interactions with the AI chatbot. The move places ChatGPT in direct competition with established digital advertising giants such as Google and Meta.

The advertising rollout in India began with sponsored messages for logged-in adult users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go plans. Users subscribed to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education plans will continue to experience ChatGPT without advertisements.

OpenAI’s advertising model is built around the context of conversations. Since users increasingly turn to ChatGPT to research products, compare alternatives and make purchasing decisions, the company sees an opportunity for brands to appear at relevant points during these interactions. Advertisements will be clearly marked as sponsored and displayed separately from ChatGPT’s responses.

For businesses, the self-serve Ads Manager is designed to make campaign creation more accessible, allowing companies of different sizes to advertise without relying entirely on agencies. Businesses in India can begin campaigns with daily budgets starting at Rs 725. OpenAI has also partnered with advertising agencies WPP and Omnicom in the country, with more than 50 brands expected to launch campaigns during the initial rollout.

User privacy remains a significant component of OpenAI’s advertising approach. The company has stated that advertisers will not receive access to users’ conversations, chat histories, memories or personal information. Instead, advertisers will receive aggregated campaign-performance metrics, such as impressions and clicks. OpenAI has also maintained that advertisements will not influence the answers generated by ChatGPT.

The company’s expansion into India comes as it seeks to build advertising into a larger revenue stream. OpenAI recently said its advertising business had reached a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate, underscoring the growing importance of ads to its commercial strategy.

With India emerging as one of ChatGPT’s largest and fastest-growing markets, the launch could significantly reshape how brands approach digital advertising. By combining conversational context with sponsored placements, OpenAI is seeking to establish a new advertising model—one where marketing reaches consumers not merely while they browse, but while they actively explore and make decisions.