OpenAI's India launch will steepen its learning curve

ChatGPT's low cost service gives it a vast test market of diverse and argumentative chatbot users

- SIDDHARTH PAI

When OpenAI announced recently that ChatGPT would be formally available in India at ₹399 a month, it was significant because that small fee grants access to a tool seen as cutting-edge but somewhat out of reach for daily users. What was a curiosity is now a regular fixture in Indian digital life.

This is not just a pricing move—it's a strategic shift that opens the gates to one of the world's most dynamic internet user bases. With nearly 800 million users online, India ranks second only to China, but it differs in one critical respect: it is wide open to global platforms. There are no Great Firewalls or mandated domestic clones. Instead, international apps and services compete openly.

For OpenAI, India represents both scale and complexity—two ingredients essential to push the limits of any AI model. India's linguistic diversity is especially instructive. While Hindi commands large numbers, it is only one among many languages with tens of millions of speakers. Add hybrid forms and you get a digital environment that can stretch the adaptability of any language model. It is a natural test-bed, where users don't just consume AI outputs, they interrogate, correct and argue with them.