As part of its expansion efforts in one of its primary markets, OpenAI is providing its ChatGPT Go plan without charge for a year to Indian users who register during a special promotional period beginning November 4.
OpenAI revealed the promotion on Tuesday but didn’t specify the duration of the offer. According to the company, current ChatGPT Go subscribers in India will also qualify for the complimentary 12-month plan.
ChatGPT Go, priced under $5 monthly, debuted in India in August as OpenAI’s most economical paid subscription tier. Subsequently, the service broadened to Indonesia and, earlier this month, extended to 16 more Asian nations.
India, the world’s most populous nation boasting over 700 million smartphone users and exceeding a billion internet subscribers, stands as a pivotal market for OpenAI. The company inaugurated its New Delhi office in August and is presently forming a local team to amplify its footprint.
Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted India as the company’s second-largest market, trailing only the U.S. However, monetizing ChatGPT’s subscription plans in the nation has presented obstacles. Data from Appfigures, reviewed by TechCrunch at the time, indicated the app garnered over 29 million downloads in the 90 days leading up to August but generated merely $3.6 million in in-app revenue during that period.
ChatGPT Go delivers tenfold the usage of the free version for producing responses, generating visuals, and uploading documents. OpenAI states that it also provides enhanced memory for more tailored responses.
“The adoption and ingenuity we’ve witnessed from our users since the initial launch of ChatGPT Go in India a few months ago has been inspiring,” stated Nick Turley, vice president and head of ChatGPT, in a statement. “We anticipate the remarkable creations, learnings, and achievements our users will attain with these tools.”
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OpenAI’s competitors, including Perplexity and Google, are likewise aiming to capitalize on India’s vast and youthful user demographic. Perplexity recently forged a partnership with Airtel to grant complimentary Perplexity Pro subscriptions to the telecom operator’s 360 million subscribers. Similarly, Google unveiled a complimentary one-year AI Pro plan for students in India.
OpenAI is scheduled to host its DevDay Exchange developer conference in Bengaluru on November 4, where it’s anticipated to announce India-specific initiatives geared towards local developers and enterprises. The company reported that India has risen as one of ChatGPT’s fastest-growing markets, with millions of users interacting with the chatbot on a daily basis.
