OpenAI · Strategy · Senior · 45 to 60 minutes

What should ChatGPT do in India after a free year?

OpenAI builds AI models and products such as ChatGPT, a conversational assistant used for learning, writing, search, and work. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

product strategy
segmentation
prioritization
monetization
metrics design

The situation

You are a senior PM at OpenAI working on ChatGPT growth. Leadership has decided that ChatGPT will be free for users in India for the next 12 months, and that timing will not change. India is a critical market because it has a massive base of students and young professionals, but it is also highly price sensitive. At the same time, Perplexity is gaining traction with a search style experience, and Google is pushing Gemini with strong distribution and trust. Leadership is worried that a free offer could create a large spike in trials without building durable habits, leaving OpenAI with weak conversion once monetization begins in year two. You are asked to recommend a two year strategy: how to use the free period to create deep engagement, and how to transition into paid usage after the free period ends. The challenge is that you cannot count on major new product capabilities during the year, so the plan must rely on clear segment choices, habit building use cases, smart packaging, and strong signals that distinguish real product value from promotion driven usage.

What to produce

A 2 page strategy memo.

Your answer must

Identify the primary target segment or segments in India and explain why they should be prioritized over other plausible users.
Lay out a sequenced strategy for Year 1 and Year 2, with 3 to 5 major initiatives tied to the business goal of deep engagement first and monetization second.
Define the key metrics for both years, including at least 3 signals that distinguish durable habit from one time or promotion driven usage.
Explain how your plan positions ChatGPT against Google and Perplexity without assuming major new core features.
Recommend a monetization approach for India after the free year, including pricing structure logic, conversion triggers, and the main tradeoffs or risks.

Constraints

The one year free period in India is fixed and cannot be shortened, removed, or limited to a smaller pilot.
Focus only on the existing ChatGPT product on mobile and web, not future agents or a separate new product line.
Assume the core feature set stays broadly the same during the free year, so your plan should rely mainly on segmentation, distribution, routines, packaging, and monetization design.
The business goal is deep engagement and future conversion, not maximizing raw signups alone.

Format

Use sections for context and choice, target users, Year 1 strategy, Year 2 monetization, metrics, and risks.

How OpenAI actually played it

Covers how OpenAI might plan the year of free ChatGPT in India and the monetization that follows, given Perplexity and Google competing. It structures the case into the free period and the year after.

Plan the exit from a free offer at the start
Know which signals show real habit versus promo use
Competitors with distribution change the monetization timing

Built from Product Strategy Problem: ChatGPT free year in India by Sreerag Panat.