India among world's most advanced AI users but adoption uneven: OpenAI report

India ranks among the world’s most advanced AI markets, particularly in coding, data analysis, and complex reasoning, but adoption here is three times more concentrated in top cities than in comparable nations, OpenAI said on Wednesday citing its latest 'capability gap findings' for India.

India ranks among the top five nations globally in thinking capability usage per person (measured via reasoning tokens used by ChatGPT Plus users), with users regularly solving complex problems and interacting with AI at an advanced level.

India is one of the fastest-growing AI builder ecosystems globally, with four times growth in 'Codex users' (AI coding tool) in just two weeks after the launch of OpenAI's Codex app in Feb 2026, as well as strong rankings in both coding and data analysis usage.

That said, this capability is not evenly distributed. AI usage in India remains highly concentrated in a handful of cities, with advanced use even more unevenly spread, a release by OpenAI, said.

The top ten cities in India account for about 50% of all AI users, led by Delhi NCR, which has the highest population penetration of ChatGPT in the country.

Taken together, these cities represent less than 10% of the population, making AI adoption about three times more concentrated in India than in comparable countries like the US, UK, Brazil, and Germany.

In advanced use cases, the gap widens significantly - data analysis usage is up to 30x higher in leading versus lagging cities, coding usage is 4x higher, and AI developer (Codex) usage shows a 9x gap.

"This indicates that while India has competitive AI capability, its deepest advantages are clustering in a small number of urban hubs, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Chennai," the release further said.

The capability gap findings highlight that beyond the top cities, some of the most meaningful use cases are emerging in areas like education and health, reflecting the manner in which AI is already being used in day-to-day contexts.

In education and learning, eastern states are seeing particularly strong engagement. A case in point is Assam, where 22% of all messages relate to education and learning, around 20% higher than the national average.

Odisha, Manipur, Tripura, and Chhattisgarh show similar patterns.

In health and wellness, higher engagement is visible in regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala.

In Jammu & Kashmir, nearly 1 in 10 messages relate to health, about 32% higher than the national average.

"The next phase of India’s AI journey will depend on how widely this capability spreads through democratisation (language, affordability, infrastructure) of the technology," the release said.

OpenAI Managing Director - International, Oliver Jay said that 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, Jay added.

Another structural factor shaping this disparity is the uneven distribution of digital infrastructure, including reliable broadband access, device penetration, and cloud-enabled tools, which remain significantly stronger in metro and tier-1 cities compared to smaller towns and rural regions. This infrastructure gap directly influences the ability of users to engage with advanced AI workloads such as coding and data analysis.

Language also plays a critical role in widening or narrowing the capability gap. While English remains the dominant medium for high-skill AI interactions, a large share of India’s population is more comfortable in regional languages. The pace at which multilingual AI interfaces improve will be a key determinant of how quickly adoption broadens beyond early adopters.

In addition, enterprise-led adoption is contributing to the concentration effect. Large technology firms, startups, and global capability centres—primarily located in urban hubs—are driving a disproportionate share of advanced AI usage, particularly in software development and analytics workflows.

At the same time, India’s demographic profile presents a unique scaling opportunity. With one of the world’s largest youth populations and a rapidly expanding base of STEM graduates, the country has the potential to significantly expand its pool of advanced AI users, provided skilling initiatives keep pace with technological change.

Policy and public digital infrastructure could also play a catalytic role in bridging the gap. Initiatives around digital public goods, AI skilling programs, and integration of AI into government services may help accelerate adoption in underserved regions and ensure more inclusive diffusion of AI capabilities.

(With inputs from PTI.)