OpenAI Pushes Deeper into Asia with ChatGPT Go Expansion
OpenAI is bringing ChatGPT Go to 16 new Asian countries, betting that a $5 plan could turn everyday users into the next wave of global AI adopters.
Asia’s appetite for AI is exploding. The Asia-Pacific region now holds the world’s second-largest chatbot market share at 28.45%, according to Exploding Topics—and OpenAI wants a bigger slice.
After testing the waters initially in India in August and subsequently in Indonesia in September, the company is now taking ChatGPT Go, its $5 monthly plan, to 16 new countries across Asia.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
The new markets include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.
ChatGPT Go isn’t a premium upsell. It’s OpenAI’s attempt to make AI more accessible without stretching wallets. An affordable bridge between free access and full pro-level tools.
The plan doubles message limits, boosts image generation, and gives users twice the memory of the free tier. For users in fast-growing digital economies like Vietnam or Pakistan, that small monthly fee could mean smoother workflows and faster responses in daily tasks.
Users in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan will even be able to pay in local currency. The rest of the countries must pay the $5 fee in USD, although the total fee will depend on local tax laws.
The move comes as OpenAI’s presence in the region is expanding fast. The company says ChatGPT's weekly active user base in Southeast Asia has grown fourfold, while paid subscriptions have doubled since the India launch.
Meanwhile, on a global scale, Sam Altman announced at DevDay 2025 that ChatGPT had reached 800 million weekly users, more than any of its major rivals, Meta AI, Google’s Gemini, xAI’s Grok, Perplexity, and Anthropic’s Claude. By expanding ChatGPT Go into new markets, OpenAI isn’t just chasing more users; it’s building loyalty in regions that could define the next phase of global AI adoption.
This expansion also ties neatly into OpenAI’s broader vision. The company recently began integrating third-party apps directly into ChatGPT, a move that hints at turning the tool into a kind of “operating system for everything,” as ChatGPT head Nick Turley put it. That vision demands scale, and scale demands infrastructure. To serve millions of new users across the world, OpenAI will need more data centres, more computing power, and ultimately, more sustainable ways to handle its ballooning costs.
Louis Eriakha
That’s where ChatGPT Go fits in. By nudging free users toward a low-cost paid plan, OpenAI is testing whether mass adoption can balance the massive expenses driving its $7.8 billion operating loss. It’s a delicate trade-off: keep prices low enough for developing markets while ensuring the system doesn’t buckle under its own weight.
Meanwhile, OpenAI rival, Google isn’t sitting still either. Its Gemini Plus plan, launched in Indonesia and now in over 40 countries, offers access to its flagship Gemini 2.5 Pro model and creative tools for image and video generation. But while Google focuses on creative versatility, OpenAI’s Go strategy feels more about embedding AI into daily life, one affordable plan at a time.
The real test will come next year, as both giants race to capture Asia’s digital middle class, a user base that could ultimately decide who defines the future of consumer AI.
