If you want to know what’s driving India’s World Cup fixations, look no further than ChatGPT. OpenAI has the numbers: we are up there with the most active users out there, sitting at number six after 17 million-plus World Cup prompts were put in by fans around the planet in the last week alone. And then there is the new deal with Messi to cap it off.
Why AI is now part of India’s match routine
ChatGPT is the de facto second screen for a lot of us. OpenAI will tell you that here in India, we are using it to get a handle on the qualification math, make some solid predictions and have an informed argument over a pre-match team change or two.
But it is not just about the scoreline. You can use it to put together a plan for a night in, figure out where to go in a host city, or even come up with something for social media to go with the day’s games. Even when you are on the hunt for a piece of memorabilia, the AI is there to help.
India stands sixth as prompts surge
The figures from OpenAI put it in perspective. With well over 17 million World Cup-related prompts coming in from all over the world in the past seven days, India is in sixth place. It shows we are not idly scrolling; we are putting the conversational side of AI to use to plan and put things in order.
They like to think of ChatGPT as your sidekick for big events. So you can put in a few words and have it do the legwork of comparing stats or going back to an old record, all in one go instead of opening up a dozen tabs.
Messi’s AI moment and what it signals
OpenAI made a point of it with a first-of-its-kind arrangement with Lionel Messi. For the campaign, he put his name to an image he made with ChatGPT of himself with a bit of blue and white in his hair – very Argentina – to get fans in the mood to be a little more inventive.
‘I’ve always been keen to see how you watch the game in different parts of the world. I had a go with ChatGPT to put myself in a scene, and you can’t go wrong with the colours of my country. I have a feeling a lot of people will find a way to follow the action and show their support with the help of AI this time round,’ says Messi.
What Indian fans are asking ChatGPT for
OpenAI says the hot topics are the usual: who is in the squad, how a team is set up, and what to expect from a given match. We are also looking up the nitty-gritty from past World Cups to have a better sense of what is happening on the pitch.
There is the practical end of it as well. People are using it to sort out their viewing and travel, or to put together a post or some fan art in no time at all.
Here are a few of the kind of things OpenAI is putting out there to get you in the zone:
– Put together a sleep schedule for the late kick-offs.
– Have a head-to-head on the teams and players.
– Work out a menu for the day of the match from both sides of the fixture.
– Laying down a fitness plan for after the tournament is done.
What this means for the tournament conversation
It comes down to making it your own. Be it for a bit of analysis or to talk shop about the game, OpenAI says these tools let you have a more hands-on kind of experience with the World Cup.
Being sixth in the world for prompt count says a lot about an audience that wants to do its homework and be creative without leaving the chat. Add in the Messi story and you have it: for this World Cup, AI is in on the action for millions of us, not just telling us what to think but how to live it.
