OpenAI, in its latest report, announced that India has emerged as one of the world’s most advanced AI markets in coding, data analysis, and complex reasoning. These findings are part of the company’s recently released Capability Gap findings for India. The report finds the country among the top five nations in thinking capability usage per person, which is measured via reasoning tokens used by ChatGPT Plus users. Advanced users regularly solve complex problems and interact with AI at an advanced level.
OpenAI says India has strong rankings in both coding and data analysis usage and has emerged as one of the fastest-growing AI builder ecosystems globally. The company reported its Codex users grew four times within two weeks after its launch in February 2026.
The report notes that most AI users in India are based in Delhi NCR, which has the highest population of ChatGPT users in the country, while the top 10 cities account for around 50 percent of AI users in India.
Expanding use cases across sectors
Apart from coding and complex problem-solving, the report says India is also using AI in areas like education and health, and found that engagement is higher in regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala.
Gap in AI access across regions
However, while AI use is increasing in India, the report also highlights a gap in access to AI which needs to be closed at the earliest. It indicates that while the country has AI capability, it is limited to a small number of urban hubs, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Chennai.
The report says AI adoption in India is around three times more concentrated than in comparable countries like the US, UK, Brazil, and Germany.
Advanced usage gap widens further
The report says the gap widens when advanced usage is compared. Leading cities rely 30 times more on AI compared to other cities for data analysis. The same goes for coding usage and AI developers, where users in leading cities rely four times and nine times respectively on AI compared to lagging cities.
“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,” said Oliver Jay, Managing Director – International, OpenAI.
