NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
India has officially surpassed the United States to become the largest user base for ChatGPT, according to Mary Meeker’s influential 2025 AI Trends Report. The country now accounts for 13.5% of the global monthly active users (MAUs) of ChatGPT, compared to 8.9% in the United States.
The findings, published in Meeker’s first AI-focused report since 2019, highlight a dramatic shift in the global landscape of artificial intelligence adoption. Meeker, a legendary internet analyst known for her widely followed annual tech trend reports, notes that the growth of ChatGPT usage in India reflects the country’s rapid embrace of mobile-first AI technologies.
India’s dominance is fueled by its large and growing internet user base—estimated to be over 1 billion—and the world’s lowest mobile data costs, averaging about 12 cents per GB. This has made generative AI tools like ChatGPT more accessible across urban and rural regions alike. India also leads in mobile-based ChatGPT access, further reinforcing its status as a global AI hub.
“India’s mobile-first approach and multilingual population make it a uniquely fertile ground for AI adoption,” the report notes. Other contributing factors include increasing digital literacy, the rise of vernacular content, and a surge in AI-related startup activity.
Meeker’s report also spotlights India’s ranking among the top countries using other AI platforms such as DeepSeek and Claude, showing that interest in generative AI extends far beyond ChatGPT alone.
The data signals a power shift in the AI ecosystem. While the U.S. has long been the birthplace of most leading AI technologies, emerging markets like India are now shaping usage patterns, product development, and future growth trajectories.
In a recent interview with Axios, Meeker remarked, “We’ve never seen anything like the user growth of ChatGPT, particularly outside the U.S.” Her report offers over 300 pages of insights into how AI is transforming everything from communication and education to business and governance.
Sam Altman’s photo: Wikimedia.
