India Becomes the World’s Largest Market for ChatGPT, Gemini & Perplexity: BOFA Report

India has officially emerged as the largest global market for leading Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity, according to a new report by BOFA Securities. With AI-driven platforms witnessing explosive growth across the country, India is quickly turning into a testbed for Agentic AI applications—AI tools that can autonomously handle tasks and workflows.

However, experts caution that this rapid shift toward global LLMs could pose challenges for India’s startup ecosystem.

Why LLM Adoption Is Surging in India

BOFA’s report highlights several factors driving India’s unprecedented LLM usage:

1. Free or bundled subscriptions from telecom companies

Indian telcos offering complementary AI app access has significantly boosted user adoption.

2. Extremely affordable mobile data

Monthly plans providing around 20GB of data for under $2 make India one of the cheapest data markets in the world—fueling AI usage.

ChatGPT Leads the Indian AI Market

India now accounts for 16% of ChatGPT’s global user base, making it one of the platform’s biggest markets.

Monthly Active Users (MAU) in India:

ChatGPT: 145 million

Gemini: 105 million

Daily Active Users (DAU) in India:

ChatGPT: 65 million

Gemini: 15 million

India’s share of global usage:

30% of worldwide Gemini users are from India

38% of Perplexity’s users are from India

ChatGPT downloads peaked at 24 million in July, while Perplexity reached a record 20 million downloads in October, boosted by Airtel’s bundled plans.

How LLM Growth Is Benefiting India

The report notes that the rise of LLM-based apps is advantageous for all stakeholders:

For users:

Access to regional language support

Increased productivity and learning

Reduced language barriers

For LLM developers:

Access to vast, diverse datasets

Ability to improve models faster

For telecom companies:

Higher average revenue per user (ARPU) in a highly competitive market

Will Global LLMs Hurt Indian Startups?

BOFA warns that until local LLMs scale up, global players like OpenAI, Google, and Meta may continue to dominate—similar to how Facebook and YouTube hold unmatched influence in India’s social media landscape.