AI platform adoption in India's media landscape
As the media industry evolves, understanding the nuances between these AI services is crucial for staying ahead.
What happens when 1.4 billion people start using AI to consume and create media? India's media landscape is experiencing a silent revolution as newsrooms, content studios, and marketing agencies race to harness artificial intelligence.
But in this high-stakes technology arms race, which AI platforms are Indian media professionals actually betting on?
Recent survey data (August 2024 - February 2025) reveals fascinating patterns in how Indian media professionals and internet users are adopting AI tools. ChatGPT leads the pack with 28% of respondents using it primarily for information retrieval, while newer entrants like DeepSeek are quickly gaining ground with 8% adoption and another 15% considering the switch.
What's particularly interesting is how these tools are being used. Information retrieval dominates with 66% of users primarily using AI platforms to find and process information quickly. Document summarization follows at 25%, while creative applications are growing with 9% using AI for writing and another 9% leveraging it for image and video creation or enhancement.
With these AI services priced almost identically—Google One AI Premium at RS₹1950 and ChatGPT Plus at RS₹1960—this article will compare these services, explore emerging alternatives, and highlight how leading Indian media brands are successfully implementing AI solutions.
Short on time?
Here is a table of content for easy and quick access:
- Google One AI Premium vs. ChatGPT Plus: a comparative analysis
- Emerging AI alternatives to consider
- Recommendations and insights for media stakeholders
Patrecia Meliana
Google One AI Premium vs. ChatGPT Plus: a comparative analysis
Among all the AI tools available in the Indian market, this article focuses on two major AI premium plans: ChatGPT Plus and Google One AI Premium. These premium services represent significant investments in AI technology, each offering powerful capabilities for different aspects of media work—whether you're crafting content, analyzing audience data, or streamlining production workflows.
With just a RS₹10 difference between Google One AI Premium (RS₹1950) and ChatGPT Plus (RS₹1960), media professionals must look beyond pricing to determine which service better aligns with their specific requirements.
Google One AI Premium plan
- Enhanced AI capabilities: Access to Gemini Advanced, the more powerful version of Google's AI (formerly Bard), built on the Gemini 1.5 Pro model
- Generous cloud storage: 2TB of space to accommodate the extensive data requirements of media organizations
- Integrated ecosystem benefits: AI features in Google Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and other Google Workspace applications
- Creative tools: Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and AI editing tools in Google Photos
- Security and support: VPN protection and priority support for troubleshooting
ChatGPT Plus
- Advanced GPT-4 Turbo access: Faster processing, support for longer text, and enhanced handling of complex tasks
- Customizable AI models: Support for unique content strategies with tailored AI functionalities
- Consistent performance: Reliable access and speed during peak operational hours
- Enhanced content creation: AI assistance for drafting, outlining, caption generation, reports, and analysis
- Document processing: Ability to review and summarize PDFs, Word, and Excel files
- Visual content generation: Quick creation of images and charts for reports or presentations
- Innovation leadership: Early access to new features to support cutting-edge content strategies
The choice between Google One AI Premium Plan and ChatGPT Plus hinges on specific organizational priorities.
Google's offering is well-suited for media outlets that require robust storage solutions and seamless integration with other Google services, facilitating content management and collaboration.
On the other hand, ChatGPT Plus is geared towards media entities looking to push the boundaries of AI-driven content creation, offering tools for customization and innovation in content strategies.
Atikah Amalia
Emerging AI alternatives to consider
As the AI landscape diversifies, several alternatives are gaining traction in 2025:
1. Claude by Anthropic
- Specialization: Excels at long-form content generation and handling complex documents (processing up to 1 million tokens in some versions)
- Strengths: Particularly effective for legal documents, contracts, technical writing, and summarizing extensive files
- Pricing: Available in both free and pro plans through Anthropic's website and select cloud provider partnerships
2. Perplexity AI
- Focus: AI-powered search engine that prioritizes real-time information retrieval with cited sources
- Strengths: Ideal for research, fact-checking, and incorporating live data to support content creation
- Pricing: Free version with limited features; Pro plan offers deeper web searches and more powerful models
3. DeepSeek AI
- Origin: China-based AI gaining popularity for its multilingual support, particularly in English and Asian languages
- Strengths: Offers a free large language model with advanced reasoning and creative writing capabilities, competing directly with GPT-4 level AI
- Pricing: Currently free for many users, with potential paid pro versions in development
Recommendations and insights for media stakeholders
Media stakeholders should weigh their operational needs against the capabilities of each AI service. For outlets prioritizing content storage and ecosystem integration, Google’s AI Premium Plan may offer the most benefits. Conversely, outlets focusing on content innovation and audience engagement might find ChatGPT Plus more aligned with their strategic goals.
Network18, one of India's largest media conglomerates, has been at the forefront of incorporating AI into its operations to improve news reporting and content distribution across its digital platforms. Utilizing AI technologies, Network18 has enhanced its content personalization strategies, allowing for tailored news feeds based on user preferences and browsing history. This personalization not only improves user engagement but also optimizes ad targeting, increasing the effectiveness of their digital advertising efforts.
The Times Group, India's largest media conglomerate, operates Times Internet, which has actively embraced AI to revolutionize content delivery and user experience across its various properties, including The Times of India, Economic Times, and others. The group employs AI for automating content curation, enhancing editorial workflows, and generating insights into reader preferences. These AI-driven initiatives enable The Times Group to offer more relevant content to its readers, driving engagement and loyalty.
Exploring other AI alternatives
As the media landscape continues to adapt to technological advancements, understanding the capabilities, limitations, and potential of AI tools will be paramount for those looking to remain competitive and innovative in a digital age.
Adobe Sensei helps creative professionals make their ideas come to life faster and more efficiently. It’s like having an assistant that takes care of the time-consuming parts of video editing and graphic design, so creators can focus on the big picture.
For example, if a media company needs to format a video to fit different social media platforms, Adobe Sensei can automatically adjust the frame so the video looks great everywhere it’s posted. This tool is all about making the creative process smoother and letting storytellers do what they do best: tell stories.
Monday.com's AI features enhance project management and team collaboration within media organizations. This platform provides an intuitive, centralized space for planning, tracking, and executing projects, from content production schedules to marketing campaigns. By automating routine tasks and facilitating real-time communication.
Monday.com helps media teams stay aligned and efficient, ensuring that projects are delivered on time and in line with strategic objectives. The integration of AI into project management tools like Monday.com requires teams to adapt to new workflows, but the payoff in terms of productivity and clarity can be substantial.
This journey towards AI integration is not just about adopting new technologies but also about making informed decisions that align with each media organization's unique goals and challenges, ensuring they remain at the cutting edge of digital innovation and audience engagement.
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