ChatGPT Ads · India
ChatGPT Ads are live
in India.
Switched on August 27, 2026 for Free and Go users. Self-serve opens September 4, 2026 with budgets from ₹725 a day - and the auction will never be this quiet again.
The timeline
August 27, 2026
Ads switch on for logged-in adults on ChatGPT's Free and Go plans in India.
Launch week
50+ brands live in the first week. WPP and Omnicom are the first agency partners.
September 4, 2026
Self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager opens to any Indian business. Minimum daily budget: ₹725. No agency required.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine; Storyboard18 (August 2026). Our co-founder Viren Inaniyan, in The Hindu BusinessLine on the launch: “Brands cannot buy influence over ChatGPT's answers.”
The pre-launch checklist
01
Run the ten-question test
Type ten questions your buyers actually ask into ChatGPT. If you're already recommended, an ad is a top-up. If you're not, you'd be renting a slot next to someone else's win.
02
Set up the account before Sept 4
Business details, tax information, identity verification, billing, and an account logo all gate serving. Clearing them early means your first campaign starts when the auction does - while competition is thinnest.
03
Install conversion tracking first
The OpenAI pixel plus a lead or purchase conversion event, linked to the campaign. Attribution only looks backward from the event - clicks before the pixel existed are gone.
04
Write context hints, not keywords
5-15 plain-language descriptions per ad group of the buyer moments you want: who is asking, what they're weighing, what they need. There is no keyword bidding.
05
Mind the ad-free majority
Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users never see ads. For your most premium buyers, the organic recommendation is the only shelf - which is why the earned layer comes first.
06
Model the budget
What does ₹725, ₹2,000, or ₹5,000 a day actually buy? Run the numbers.
Open the cost calculatorIndia questions
Yes - since August 27, 2026, for Free and Go users, with 50+ brands live in the first week and WPP and Omnicom as the first agency partners (The Hindu BusinessLine).
Deeper reads: how to run ChatGPT ads in India, what they cost, and agency vs self-serve.
See your organic layer in 24 hours
Before the auction opens, know where you stand in the answers themselves. The free Citation Rank scan shows whether ChatGPT already recommends your brand - and what to fix if it doesn't.