Artificial intelligence adoption is accelerating worldwide, and India is rapidly becoming one of the strongest drivers of this growth. A new report by market intelligence firm Sensor Tower reveals that it led global generative AI app downloads in 2025, recording a 207% year-on-year surge and moving ahead of the United States in overall usage.
The growth comes amid increased accessibility, as companies including OpenAI and Google introduced affordable plans and promotional offers tailored for Indian users. AI adoption also gained attention during the India AI Impact Summit, where OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said India has more than 100 million weekly ChatGPT users.
1 in 5 global downloads from India
The report states that nearly 20%, or 1 in 5, generative AI app downloads worldwide came from it. Despite massive adoption, revenue contribution remains limited. Users accounted for only about 1% of global in-app purchases in 2025, highlighting a significant monetisation gap.
Downloads peaked strongly in September and October, growing 320% and 260% year-on-year respectively. However, revenue growth did not keep pace, with in-app purchases declining 22% in November and 18% in December.
Promotions and free access fuel adoption
The surge was driven by aggressive promotions and the arrival of new AI platforms such as DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI. In India, Google partnered with Jio to offer 1-year free access to its AI Pro plan, while Perplexity collaborated with Airtel for similar benefits. OpenAI also introduced limited-period free access to ChatGPT Go.
Following the free ChatGPT Go rollout in November, ChatGPT revenue in India dropped 33% in November and 32% in December. Even so, OpenAI maintained leadership, generating more than 60% of generative AI in-app revenue in the country. Viral AI-generated content trends further boosted downloads, especially content creation and editing apps.
Usage high, engagement still evolving
India’s strong digital infrastructure, with over 1 billion internet users and about 700 million smartphone owners, continues to support AI growth. The country represented around 19% of the global user base for leading AI assistant apps in 2025, compared to 10% for the U.S.
However, engagement remains higher in mature markets. U.S. users spent 21% more time weekly on AI apps and recorded 17% more sessions on average than users in India.
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