OpenAI's ChatGPT swaps pitches with prompts in maiden India OOH campaign

 “Create a meal plan that hits 100g of protein per day. And a grocery list under ₹100/week,” reads the minimalist OpenAI billboard in Mumbai’s Juhu, reminding users what their ChatGPT conversations could look like.

ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI, has undertaken its first OOH (Out Of Home) advertising campaign in India, starting from Mumbai and expanding to other cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, and Delhi (NCR).

Prompts, not pitches

The campaign lacks the usual Call-To-Action (CTA) jargon: buy now, scan now, tap here, and book now. Additionally, it substitutes the avalanche of colours one sees on billboards, especially during the festive season, for the comfort of a soothing white canvas. All these design decisions generate curiosity, urging the passerby to at least glance, if not read, the billboard, a far cry from the usual avoidance of such ads. 

The OOH advertising uses simple ChatGPT prompts to reiterate the everyday yet life-changing uses of the AI chatbot. The campaign also avoids technical jargon, instead opting for relatable messaging that encourages passersby to consider practical uses for ChatGPT.

“Can you help me stay consistent about tracking my budget?” reads another billboard. 

Launched in November 2022, OpenAI’s ChatGPT was followed by Google’s Bard (now Gemini) a year later, in March 2023. Elon Musk’s quirky Grok launched soon after in December 2023, whereas Perplexity AI was introduced in India in January 2025. 

Perhaps being the first generative AI chatbot in India is the reason ChatGPT is used synonymously with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the country, just as Google is synonymous with internet search engines.

ChatGPT goes local

According to the International Market Analysis Research and Consulting (IMARC) Group, the generative AI market size reached $1.30 billion in India by 2024. It is expected to grow with a CAGR of 15.20%, reaching $5.40 billion by 2033. And OpenAI seems to have noticed.

The artificial intelligence research and deployment company has recently announced its first Indian office in New Delhi, also appointing Meta’s Sheeladitya Mohanty as the Marketing Lead for OpenAI's India operations.

Not only is India OpenAI’s biggest market in the world after the USA, but it is also home to the largest student population on ChatGPT worldwide. 

Nearly 50% of ChatGPT’s users in India are under 24 years old, and most use the tool for academic purposes, also making use of its study mode feature.

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Hence, on August 25, 2025, the OpenAI Learning Accelerator was announced. According to the OpenAI website, it is “an India-first initiative that aims to bring advanced AI to India’s educators and millions of learners nationwide through AI research, training, and deployment.”

Through this initiative, OpenAI will partner with the Indian Ministry of Education, IIT Madras, the All India Council for Technical Education, and Awareness in Research and Innovation for Schools and Educators (a network of K–12 schools) to advance research and distribute 500,000 ChatGPT licences to Indian educators and students. 

More recently, OpenAI has also launched ChatGPT Go, an India-only subscription plan priced at Rs 399 per month. According to a LinkedIn post by ChatGPT vice president Nick Turley, “All subscriptions in India are now priced in INR and can be purchased using UPI.”

With ChatGPT Go, users in India now get:

- 10x higher message limits

- 10x more image generations

- 10x more file uploads

- 2x longer memory compared with the free tier

“Making ChatGPT more affordable has been one of the top requests from our users. We’re starting with India and will learn from feedback before expanding Go to other countries,” read Turley’s post. 

In July, Perplexity AI partnered with Bharti Airtel to provide a year-long free Perplexity Pro subscription worth Rs 18,000 to all Airtel consumers. Hence, OpenAI is not alone in the race to woo the Indian AI market.

The AI race

In July 2025, Sensor Tower, an American market intelligence company, reported that ChatGPT had over 52 million downloads across Google Play and the iOS App Store, making it the fastest-growing and top-downloaded non-game app at the time. 

However, with the launch of Gemini’s Nano Banana, the viral AI-powered 3D figurine creator, Google’s Gemini has taken over the title of the most downloaded app on app stores worldwide. 

The race between ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity may be global, but in India, the battle may be fought on bus stands, in exam prep, and even in everyday conversations.