FIFA World Cup 2026: Fans asked ChatGPT 17 mn questions in a week, India among top 10 countries

With the IPL season now behind us, India is turning its attention to the next big sports event: FIFA World Cup 2026. The upcoming football match has become a major part of the global conversation, with India emerging among the top markets using ChatGPT to explore everything from match predictions to team analysis.

According to OpenAI, fans worldwide have already generated 17 million FIFA World Cup-related prompts on ChatGPT in just a single week. Remarkably, India recorded the sixth-highest volume of these queries globally. In addition, the surge was recorded amid the global partnership between OpenAI and football icon Lionel Messi.

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In a recent Instagram post, Messi posted an AI-generated look with blue-and-white hair inspired by Argentina's national colours. The effect was created using ChatGPT's image-generation capabilities. “I've always loved seeing how people experience football differently in each country. I turned to ChatGPT to imagine myself cheering in a new way, and I started with Argentina's colours, of course,” Messi said.

 “This season, I think many fans will discover new ways to follow the matches, better understand what happens on the field, and show their support with AI.”

How are Indian fans using ChatGPT during football season? 

OpenAI highlighted that ChatGPT has become a digital companion when it comes to FIFA World Cup-related queries in India. The majority of these queries are about teams, players, qualification scenarios and predictions. Many are also looking up match timings, tournament formats, historical records and results.

Data showcased that fans across metro cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kerala and West Bengal, are using ChatGPT in five distinct ways: predicting roster decisions, analysing tournament formats, generating social media content, planning watch parties, and many are also searching for World Cup merchandise and collectables.

Also read: FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast guide: Which TV channels to watch on in India, match timings & streaming details

Since the majority of the matches are scheduled for late night in India, fans are using ChatGPT to create a sleep schedule to survive timezone differences. OpenAI also provided few of the queries like “Make a sleep schedule so I can catch the late games, but show up fresh...ish for my 9 AM office login,” “Create a printable factsheet comparing the teams, their previous performances, likely strategy for the World Cup, and star players,” “Undo my late-night snacking with a post-tournament training plan,” and more.