ChatGPT Go free access: OpenAI rolls out 1-year free subscription from Nov 4; how to avail offer and other key details

ChatGPT Go will now be accessible for free in India for one year to users who sign up during the limited-time promotional period.

From Tuesday, November 4, OpenAI’s AI ChatGPT is offering one year of free access to its new low-cost subscription plan with advanced access to its features to Indian users who sign up during the promotional period.

The offer can be availed now from the ChatGPT web or the Google Play Store, and will be available on the Apple App Store from next week.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, built on large language models (LLMs), that interacts in a conversational way like humans. ChatGPT Go is OpenAI’s recently launched subscription tier that offers increased message limits, image generation and file uploads for users in India.

India is ChatGPT’s second-largest and among the fastest-growing markets in the world. The low-cost subscription plan was launched to make the chatbot more accessible to users across the country.

The year-long free promotion coincides with OpenAI’s first DevDay Exchange event in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

"Since initially launching ChatGPT Go in India a few months ago, the adoption and creativity we've seen from our users has been inspiring," said Nick Turley, Vice President and Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI.

"Ahead of our first DevDay Exchange event in India, we're making ChatGPT Go freely available for a year to help more people across India easily access and benefit from advanced AI," Turley said.

"This promotion is a continuation of OpenAI’s 'Indiafirst' commitment and supports the IndiaAI Mission, reinforcing the growing momentum around AI in India as the country prepares to host the AI Impact Summit next year," OpenAI said in a statement.

What about existing ChatGPT Go users?

Existing ChatGPT Go subscribers in India are also eligible for the free 12-month access extension. This means that if you already purchased the plan when it was initially launched in August, you can extend the subscription for 12 months for no cost.

​“We’ll automatically move your next billing date back by 12 months within the upcoming week. No action is required on your part. Note that your subscription must be in good standing to be eligible for automatic redemption. If you have existing discounts on your account, we’ll replace them with the promotion,” as per a blog post by OpenAI.

If the account is not in good standing, you can’t avail the offer until the billing period ends. Good standing means the user has no missed or declined payments.

How to avail the offer?

Users will automatically get a pop-up from OpenAI asking them to upgrade their free account to the ChatGPT Go tier without any cost.

If you don’t have a ChatGPT account, first sign up with an Email or Apple account. To avail the offer, follow these steps:

• Log in to your account
• On the app or on the web, go to your profile
• Go to upgrade plans/subscription
• Select ChatGPT Go
• Enter your payment details (credit card/debit card/Apple Pay/UPI)

The promotion by ChatGPT comes at a time when global companies are offering access to AI tools at subsidised rates to Indian users as the country emerges as a key testing ground for LLMs. Reliance Jio has also announced a similar offer, giving a free Google AI Pro subscription for 1.5 years to its users, while Bharti Airtel is offering a free Perplexity Pro subscription for a year.