The news: OpenAI and Google are racing to lock in users in two of Asia’s most populous markets with budget-friendly AI subscriptions, per TechCrunch.

OpenAI’s $4.50-per-month ChatGPT Go has expanded from India to Indonesia, while Google countered with a similarly priced AI Plus plan ($4.56) that bundles its Gemini 2.5 Pro chatbot, creative tools, and storage perks for the Indonesian market. 

The strategy is banking on affordability to unlock new users while new users provide the regional data needed to sharpen AI models.

OpenAI’s new middle tier: ChatGPT Go bridges the gap between the free and $20 Plus plans, offering 10 times higher usage limits than the free version, image generation, file uploads, and stronger memory for context across conversations.

Since launching in India in August, OpenAI says paid subscribers have more than doubled—evidence that low-cost access can convert millions of users into paying customers. India has become the world’s second-largest ChatGPT market, with 26.5 million monthly active users in 2024—a 42% jump from 2023, per Similarweb.

Google’s AI ecosystem play: Google is taking a different tack, embedding AI deeper into its ecosystem. Its AI Plus plan integrates with Gmail, Docs, and Sheets, while also offering NotebookLM research features and 200 GB of storage.

By weaving AI into everyday productivity tools, Google is betting users will adopt its services not as experiments but as essentials. 

New markets offer new opportunities: Asia is emerging as AI’s next frontier, for both adoption and for training models on large populations that could shape future trends.

Our take: Marketers should prepare for audiences in India, Indonesia, and beyond who will be AI-native from the start. Analyzing AI adoption and usage trends opens opportunities for when campaigns run along AI search results.

That means testing localized creative strategies and viewing Asia as the engine driving the next phase of generative AI growth, not a secondary market.