OpenAI’s ad play enters the intent economy. Could India be next?

OpenAI’s advertising business is moving from controlled experiment to market expansion.

After initially positioning ChatGPT as a largely ad-free, subscription-led AI assistant, OpenAI has begun testing ads inside ChatGPT and last week expanded the rollout to markets including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Ads are currently shown to users on Free and Go plans, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts remain ad-free, according to OpenAI’s help centre.

India has not been announced yet. But for a company trying to build a global ad business, Indian market may be difficult to ignore. India has a large mobile-first user base, a fast-growing digital ad economy and advertiser categories—ecommerce, BFSI, education, travel, auto, consumer tech and quick commerce—that already spend heavily on intent-led and performance marketing.

The implications go beyond the arrival of another ad platform. ChatGPT ads could sit between search and commerce, giving OpenAI access to high-intent consumer journeys and potentially disrupt India’s Rs 1.55-lakh-crore ad market, where digital media accounts for nearly two-thirds of spends, say industry leaders.

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ChatGPT: Writing on the wall for copywriters?

From search clicks to AI recommendations

OpenAI is trying to build an ad product around conversational intent rather than search keywords, social behaviour or marketplace browsing. Ads appear below relevant conversations, are labelled as sponsored and are visually separated from organic answers. OpenAI says ads do not influence ChatGPT’s responses and advertisers do not get access to user chats, memories or personal details.

The ad infrastructure is also becoming more performance-led. ChatGPT Ads supports CPM and CPC buying, uses a relevance-weighted second-price auction, and allows conversion measurement through Ads Manager Beta.

David Dugan, VP Ads at OpenAI, framed the opportunity around high-context conversations. “Every week over 900 million people globally use ChatGPT to solve problems, win back time, and get ideas. We've built a considered, thoughtful platform for advertisers to participate in these high-context conversations, built around principles of answer independence, privacy, and user choice. Leveraging product feeds is one of many ways for advertisers to leverage our platform,” he said in a LinkedIn post.

That positioning is important. OpenAI does not want ChatGPT ads to remain a brand-awareness layer. It wants to compete for performance budgets.

Search, ecommerce and publishers face the first test

Experts say search advertising may be the first area to feel pressure.

“The first area likely to feel pressure is search advertising, particularly high-intent informational searches. A growing number of users are already asking ChatGPT questions that previously would have gone to Google, such as product research, comparisons, travel planning, healthcare information, financial education and how-to queries,” said Sandeep Amar, digital advertising expert and founder of PDlab.me.

Sachin Kumar, founder of BottleOpeners, sees the disruption as more structural. “Google's search dominance in India is built on intent. ChatGPT's conversational search already intercepts that intent before the user reaches a search results page. Once ads enter that conversation layer, you're not just competing with Google — you're collapsing the traditional search funnel entirely,” he said.

According to Kumar, categories such as D2C, edtech, fintech and travel aggregators could be exposed early because Indian consumers already use long, specific queries in these segments. "A user asking for the best term insurance plan for a 32-year-old with two dependents, he noted, is more qualified than many conventional PPC clicks," he explains.

Retail media and ecommerce platforms may be affected more gradually because users still need a transaction destination. But AI assistants could increasingly influence product discovery before consumers reach Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Nykaa, Blinkit or Zepto.

Publishers, review sites and affiliate platforms may face a sharper challenge. If ChatGPT answers product and service queries directly, users may spend less time visiting SEO-led buying guides and comparison pages.

“For nearly two decades, brands have optimised content, SEO and ad spends to win clicks on Google. If ChatGPT starts delivering direct answers with embedded recommendations or sponsored placements, many users may never visit search results pages,” said Shweta Baid of Shail Digital.

She added that brands are already moving from keyword competition to AI visibility. “We are already seeing AEO and GEO becoming popular,” she said, referring to Answer Engine Optimisation and Generative Engine Optimisation.

India opportunity, but ROI will decide adoption

OpenAI’s ad ambitions are significant. Axios reported that the company expects $2.5 billion in ad revenue in 2026 and $100 billion by 2030, with its ad pilot crossing $100 million in annualised revenue in under two months.

India could become attractive if OpenAI opens self-serve buying and performance tools to smaller advertisers. But adoption will depend on measurement.

“I believe OpenAI has the potential to become a meaningful advertising platform in India, but advertiser adoption will depend less on audience scale and more on measurability of return on investment,” Amar said. “Advertisers would want to pay for some form of performance metric. Clicks may be the minimum expectation.”

Brand safety will be another test. “Unlike search ads, AI conversations are highly dynamic, making contextual placement and brand safety controls far more complex,” Baid said.

The larger shift may not be about ad formats at all. As Baid put it, the disruption is “the shift from a click economy to a recommendation economy, where AI becomes the primary gatekeeper between brands and customers.”