ChatGPT Go Rollout in India Tarnished by UPI Glitches: What Went Wrong?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one of the biggest buzzwords in 2025 — and now it’s literally at everyone’s fingertips. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, recently launched its “ChatGPT Go” plan — a free version of the world’s most popular AI chatbot — especially for India.

But what was meant to be a celebration of accessibility and innovation has turned into frustration for thousands of Indian users. Why? Because of one familiar problem — UPI payment glitches.

 What Is ChatGPT Go?

ChatGPT Go is OpenAI’s new initiative to make AI tools like ChatGPT available to every smartphone user — especially in emerging markets like India, Indonesia, and Brazil.

The Go version offers basic access to ChatGPT’s features — including text generation, writing help, question answering, and translation — without a paid subscription. Users only need to verify their identity via a simple payment-authentication step powered by India’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface).

Sounds simple, right? Except, it wasn’t.

 What Went Wrong with UPI?

As soon as ChatGPT Go’s free plan went live, users started flooding social media with complaints. Many couldn’t complete verification because UPI payments failed during the authentication process.

According to reports, UPI servers of multiple payment apps — including Google Pay, Paytm, and PhonePe — experienced heavy load and repeated transaction drops. Users saw messages like “Payment declined by bank” or “Authentication failed”, even though no money was being transferred.

OpenAI’s backend verification system flagged these incomplete verifications as “failed attempts,” leaving users locked out of ChatGPT Go.

On X (formerly Twitter), hashtags like #ChatGPTUPIfail and #ChatGPTGoIndia started trending within hours.

 Why This Matters for India’s Tech Ecosystem

India has long been positioned as a digital payments leader — thanks to the success of UPI. Every major global tech company, from Netflix to Spotify, integrates it for seamless subscriptions.

But this incident shows that even India’s most reliable payment infrastructure isn’t immune to sudden pressure spikes.
ChatGPT Go’s rollout caused a surge of millions of verification requests simultaneously, revealing cracks in scalability and third-party coordination between payment apps, banks, and OpenAI’s system.

This also highlights a bigger issue — global companies relying heavily on India’s UPI without fully stress-testing their integrations.

 The Indian User’s Reaction

For Indian users, the mood was mixed — excitement quickly turned into memes.

“When ChatGPT Go says free but UPI says no,” wrote one user on X, summing up the national sentiment.

Tech influencers pointed out that UPI authentication was never designed for non-financial verification at this scale. Others questioned why OpenAI couldn’t simply use SMS OTP verification for free plan activation.

Still, the enthusiasm hasn’t died down — users continue to wait for OpenAI to fix the glitches and re-enable access.

 OpenAI’s Response

OpenAI acknowledged the issue late Monday, stating that the problem lies with third-party payment verification layers and not with its own servers. The company promised to roll out a “smoother verification experience” and work directly with Indian payment providers to resolve the matter.

They also reassured users that no money was deducted in failed attempts and that no user data was compromised.

“We value our Indian users and are working to make ChatGPT Go fully accessible without friction,” the company said in a brief statement.

 The Bigger Picture: India’s AI Future

Despite the rocky start, India remains a key market for AI companies.

• The country already has over 20 million ChatGPT users, one of the largest user bases globally.

• With rapid smartphone penetration and a growing interest in AI productivity tools, the potential remains huge.

Once the UPI glitch is resolved, ChatGPT Go could transform how everyday Indians use AI — from writing and learning to translation and professional support.

But this episode serves as a reminder that tech innovation can’t run without strong local infrastructure partnerships — and even the smartest AI needs human systems that work.

Final Word

The ChatGPT Go rollout in India was supposed to be a milestone in democratizing AI. Instead, it revealed the fragile balance between innovation and infrastructure.

As India continues to be a test bed for global digital initiatives, one thing is clear — seamless integration is the real test of success.

So, while ChatGPT Go may have stumbled at the start, the AI revolution in India is only just beginning.