OpenAI’s first Capability Gap report for India reveals advanced usage concentrated in a handful of cities, even as the country ranks in the global top five for AI sophistication
India has emerged as one of the world’s most advanced AI markets, ranking in the top five nations globally for thinking capability usage per person — yet a stark divide separates its leading cities from the rest of the country, according to OpenAI’s first Capability Gap findings released on April 15, 2026.
The report, which measures how deeply and how widely AI is being used across different regions, paints a picture of a country with world-class AI talent and rapidly growing developer momentum — but one where that capability is clustering in a small number of urban hubs.
A builder ecosystem on the rise
India’s early adopters are not just using AI — they are building with it. Following the launch of OpenAI’s Codex app in February 2026, India recorded 4× growth in Codex users in just two weeks, signalling strong momentum in the developer community. The country also performs well globally in coding and data analysis use cases, and its ChatGPT Plus users regularly engage with the platform on complex reasoning tasks.
The concentration problem
Despite this strength at the top, adoption across the broader country tells a different story. The top 10 cities in India — led by Delhi NCR, which has the highest ChatGPT penetration in the country — account for roughly half of all AI users, even though these cities represent less than 10% of the national population. This makes AI adoption in India approximately three times more concentrated than in comparable countries including the US, UK, Brazil, and Germany.
The gap becomes even more pronounced in advanced use cases. Data analysis usage is up to 30× higher in leading cities compared to lagging ones. Coding usage shows a 4× gap, and developer-tool usage a 9× gap. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Chennai are identified as the primary hubs where India’s deepest AI advantages are concentrated.
Where opportunity lies beyond the metros
The report also surfaces encouraging signals from outside the top cities. In eastern states, AI is being used heavily for education and learning — in Assam, around 22% of all messages relate to education, roughly 20% above the national average, with similar patterns seen in Odisha, Manipur, Tripura, and Chhattisgarh.
Health and wellness is another area of strong regional engagement. In Jammu & Kashmir, nearly one in ten messages relates to health — about 32% above the national average — with similar trends visible in Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala.
The road to broader access
OpenAI has flagged democratisation — through language support, affordability, and infrastructure — as the central lever for closing this gap. The company says it is deepening its presence in India through developer education events, university partnerships, and collaborations with companies such as TCS and Razorpay to expand AI-native development.
“The central question now is how quickly the benefits of AI can extend beyond early adopters and leading cities to the wider population,” said Oliver Jay, Managing Director – International at OpenAI. “Closing this gap will require expanding access, building skills, and enabling more meaningful use across the country.”
With a young and fast-adopting population, India has the demographic tailwind to become a truly broad-based AI economy — but realising that potential will depend on how equitably the next phase of adoption unfolds.
