OpenAI Signals Report Highlights AI Use Trends In India

OpenAI has released new data from OpenAI Signals—a new public data initiative by OpenAI launched today—that highlights how people in India are using ChatGPT for coding, data analysis, learning, and everyday problem-solving.

This comes as ChatGPT in India passes 100 million weekly active users, with India already the largest market for ChatGPT outside the US and the fastest-growing market for Codex, with weekly usage in India increasing 4x in the last two weeks. The new Signals findings help explain what is driving that momentum across work, learning, and everyday use.

Key findings from the report include:

• India’s use of ChatGPT for technical tasks is higher than the global average: 

• Data analysis is about 4x the global average, and Codex use for coding tasks is about 3x the global average.

• Users in India also ask more coding and learning questions than most markets:

• Coding-related questions are nearly 3x the global median, and education and learning questions are nearly 2x the global median.

• India is above the global average for work use on ChatGPT - around 35% vs. around 30% globally - and that work use is highly task-focused.

• Use is concentrated among younger users: 18–24 year olds send just under half of all messages, and 18–34 year olds account for about 80% of consumer messages.

Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist, OpenAI, said “AI adoption is moving faster than our ability to measure it - and that’s a challenge for anyone trying to make smart decisions. Signals is our way of putting real-world evidence on the table, so India’s AI debate can be grounded in facts, not hype.”

At work, users primarily rely on AI for drafting and editing, technical assistance and debugging, and accelerating workflows. Outside the workplace, nearly 35% of messages focus on practical guidance,  and approximately 20% each on general information and writing tasks, highlighting growing use for learning, decision-making, and personal productivity. 

Those aged 18–34 contribute ~80% overall, driving education- and early-career-oriented use cases.

OpenAI Signals is a new public data initiative launched today that provides recurring, privacy-preserving indicators and de-identified datasets on how ChatGPT is being adopted and used across regions, age groups, and task types.

In-depth findings

1. Data Analysis and Coding Adoption Is Outpacing Global Benchmarks

Indian users are adopting many of OpenAI’s most advanced capabilities at rates significantly above the global median:

• ~4× higher usage of ChatGPT’s data analysis tools among Plus and Pro users
• ~3× higher usage of Codex for coding tasks
• ~3× higher likelihood to ask coding-related questions
• ~2× higher likelihood to use ChatGPT for education and learning queries

Geographically, the highest use of coding capabilities is concentrated in India’s major technology hubs with Telangana at #1, followed by Karnataka  and Tamil Nadu, respectively.

These patterns suggest that Indian users are pairing large-scale adoption with relatively sophisticated usage, particularly in coding- and analysis-adjacent workflows.

2. Work-Related Use Remains Above Global Average

While consumer use of ChatGPT in India has diversified over time, professional applications remain prominent:

• ~35% of consumer messages in India are work-related, compared to ~30% globally
• Nearly two-thirds of messages are now non-work related, reflecting expanding use in everyday life since early 2025

At work, users are primarily leveraging AI for:

• Drafting and editing content
• Technical assistance and debugging
• Task completion and workflow acceleration

3. Learning and Advice Drive Personal Use Cases

Within non-work-related usage in India:

• ~35% of messages relate to practical guidance
• ~20% seek general information
• ~20% involve writing tasks, including drafting or editing 

This suggests that outside the workplace, Indians are increasingly using AI to support learning and self-education, everyday decision-making, personal productivity, and logistics.

4. Young Indians Are Driving Adoption

ChatGPT usage in India skews significantly younger than the global average:

• Users aged 18–24 now account for just under 50% of all messages in India; globally, the same age group contributes ~33% of messages
• Users aged 18–34 collectively account for ~80% of all consumer messages sent in India 
• A youth-led user base amplifies education- and early-career-oriented use cases, with younger users accounting for a majority of messages related to practical guidance, technical help, and self-expression

The report indicates that AI use in India is broad and increasingly advanced. As a young user base drives this shift from experimentation to execution, these patterns point to the technology becoming a core part of how India works and learns at scale.