ChatGPT Plus subscription comes to India: All details

ChatGPT Plus subscription comes to India, the chatbot's creator, OpenAI, said in a tweet. OpenAI launched a subscription to ChatGPT Plus in February for $20 per month (roughly Rs 1650). It promises "faster response speed" and "priority access to new features." Also, users can use the AI chatbot even if the "demand is high". While OpenAI says that the subscription is available in India, the company has not changed the price for the Indian market. That means users need to pay in USD per month to enjoy the subscription benefits.

Reacting to OpenAI's tweet, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company "loves India." OpenAI also works with the Indian social networking company Koo to help users compose content seamlessly. However, the feature is rolling out slowly.

A few users claim that despite the availability of ChatGPT Plus subscription in India, the payment is unsuccessful. It may be due to RBI rules that do not allow recurring subscriptions. One Twitter user (@swapcoolkarni) said that he has been trying to get a subscription to ChatGPT Plus for the last "three or four" days, but "the card gets rejected every time." Another user pointed out that a subscription for Indian customers costs $23.60, which is around Rs 1950. The government charges $3.60 (Rs 300) on foreign transactions.

Similarly, another user (@keerthanpg) said while reacting to Altman's tweet: "$23 is a lot of money in India. A chatbot that costs 1/17th of median monthly income is kinda expensive."

ChatGPT Plus also allows users to experience GPT-4, the new generation LLM (Large Language Model) that even parses text input. However, if you want to utilise GPT-4 technology for free, Microsoft offers an option. Recently, Microsoft announced that their Bing Chat or Bing AI runs on GPT-4 technology along with some proprietary technology. Bing Chat is free of cost in India and is also available as an app.

Bing Chat got launched globally last month, but it was available to limited users. A new report indicates that Microsoft is rolling out Bing Chat for all users and it is free of cost. To use Bing Chat, open Bing search in any browser and find the Chat option at the top left. Join the wish list and sign in with your Microsoft account. The company redirects you to use the Edge browser if you are on Chrome or any different browser. When you open Edge, Bing Chat, powered by GPT-4, will be available.