According to AIbase, despite ChatGPT, OpenAI's flagship product, having surpassed 900 million weekly users globally, its monetization efforts are facing serious geopolitical economic challenges. According to the latest tracking data from Sensor Tower, about 90% of ChatGPT's active users live outside the United States and Canada. This user distribution poses a challenge to OpenAI's ambitious plan to increase advertising revenue, as the ad value in international markets, especially emerging markets, is far lower than that in North America.

ChatGPT

Data comparisons show that this "monetization capability" difference is extremely significant. For example, Pinterest's average revenue per user in the U.S. is $7.64, while it is only $0.21 in overseas regions. Currently, India and Brazil have joined the U.S., Japan, and France as ChatGPT's top five markets, but the conversion rate for paid users in these regions remains around 5%. To find a balance in low-purchasing-power markets, OpenAI has launched a low-cost version called "ChatGPT Go" in countries like India, with a monthly subscription fee of about $5 (approximately 399 rupees), and offers free trials during specific promotional periods to help users develop a habit of paying for services.

OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar previously confirmed that the company is exploring the introduction of advertisements within its products. According to its financial planning, OpenAI aims to generate approximately $110 billion in revenue from free users by 2030, with advertising revenue being highly anticipated. This aggressive revenue growth is crucial for OpenAI, as the company is burdened with billions of dollars in commitments for data center construction and computing power leasing. Finding a breakthrough between the large base of free users overseas and the extremely low revenue per user from ads will be a key challenge for OpenAI's transformation into a platform-based tech giant.