India among top global AI markets but smaller cities lag, says OpenAI report

India’s AI strength grows, but smaller cities lag behind. Representational Image

OpenAI has identified India as one of the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) markets in the world. The country performs strongly in areas like coding, data analysis and complex reasoning, reported IANS.

According to the company, India ranks among the top five countries globally in terms of thinking capability usage per person, based on how users engage with advanced features on ChatGPT Plus.

India is also emerging as one of the fastest-growing AI developer ecosystems. The report highlighted that usage of the company's Codex platform saw a four-fold increase in just two weeks after its launch in February 2026. This rapid growth shows the increasing interest and adoption of AI tools among developers and professionals in the country.

Usage remains concentrated in major cities

Despite the strong growth, AI usage in India is not evenly distributed. It is largely concentrated in a few urban centres.

The top 10 cities account for nearly 50 per cent of AI users, even though they represent less than 10 per cent of the population. Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi and Chennai are leading hubs for advanced AI use. Among them, Delhi-NCR has the highest penetration of ChatGPT users, as per IANS.

The report highlighted a significant gap in AI adoption between major cities and smaller regions.

In advanced use cases, data analysis usage is up to 30 times higher, coding usage is four times higher while Codex developer usage is nine times higher in leading cities. This shows that while India has strong AI capabilities, access and usage remain uneven.

What is the solution to this?

Expanding AI access is key solution. Experts believe that the next challenge is to expand AI benefits beyond early adopters in major cities.

Oliver Jay, Managing Director (International) at OpenAI, said, "The central question now is how quickly the benefits of AI can extend beyond early adopters and leading cities to the wider population. Closing this gap will require expanding access, building skills, and enabling more meaningful use across the country, an effort shaped in large part by India's young, fast-adopting population," reported the news agency.

Beyond major cities, AI is already being used in practical areas such as education and healthcare, showing its potential to improve everyday life. These emerging use cases highlight how AI can benefit a broader population if access is expanded.

(With IANS Inputs)