Brands
ChatGPT Ads arrive in India as OpenAI pushes ahead with revenue growth
More than 50 brands are set to advertise on ChatGPT in India this week
NEW DELHI: OpenAI has expanded ChatGPT Ads to India, bringing advertisements to logged-in adult users on the Free and Go tiers as the artificial intelligence company looks to deepen its revenue streams in one of its fastest-growing markets.
More than 50 brands are expected to begin advertising on ChatGPT in India this week. The ads will appear at the bottom of responses and will be clearly labelled and visually separated from ChatGPT’s answers.
The rollout applies to users on the Free and Go tiers. Paid plans including Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education will remain ad-free.
OpenAI has partnered with WPP and Omnicom as its first agency partners for ChatGPT Ads in India. The company plans to add more agencies as the advertising business expands.
OpenAI is also preparing to launch self-serve access to its ChatGPT Ads Manager in India from 4 September. Businesses of different sizes will be able to create campaigns, with daily budgets starting at Rs 725.
India has emerged as a major market for ChatGPT. The platform had more than 100 million weekly users in the country as of February, making India its second-largest market globally. ChatGPT has since crossed 1 billion weekly users worldwide.
The advertising rollout gives businesses an opportunity to place products and services alongside conversations where users are researching options, comparing products or making decisions.
OpenAI said ChatGPT’s responses will not be influenced by advertisements. The company has also said advertisers will not receive access to users’ chats, chat history, memories or personal details.
Instead, advertisers will receive aggregated campaign metrics such as impressions and clicks. OpenAI does not sell user data to advertisers.
Ads will also be restricted in certain situations. They will not be shown to users identified as being under 18 and will not appear alongside sensitive or regulated topics, including health, mental health and politics.
OpenAI first announced plans to test advertising within ChatGPT in January as it looked to diversify its revenue base. The US pilot began in February and reportedly crossed $100 million in annualised revenue within six weeks.
The company subsequently expanded the advertising programme to markets including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. Last week, ChatGPT Ads expanded to 31 European countries.
OpenAI is expected to introduce more ad formats, campaign objectives and buying options over time as it develops the business.
The move comes as OpenAI prepares for a potential public listing later this year or early next year. The company confidentially filed for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June.
OpenAI’s revenue reached $6.7 billion in the June quarter, up from $5.7 billion in the March quarter, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Its operating loss, including stock-based compensation, widened to $12.3 billion in the second quarter from $9.3 billion in the first quarter.
For OpenAI, bringing ads to India is therefore more than a new feature for ChatGPT. It is another step towards turning its enormous free-user base into a larger and more diversified source of revenue.
