OpenAI Launches Program to Accelerate Small Business AI Adoption

OpenAI has launched a program designed to help small businesses use ChatGPT to increase their productivity and scale their businesses.

The ChatGPT small business program includes webinars that show small businesses how to use ChatGPT Work for accounting, marketing, eCommerce and other use cases; in-person OpenAI Academy events that offer guided instruction, hands-on exercises and support from fellow business owners; content such as customer stories, interactive guides and short-form videos that show how business owners can get started with ChatGPT Work; and plugins, skills and special offers from OpenAI partners, the company said in a Tuesday (July 21) press release.

“We’re most excited for small businesses to explore use cases with ChatGPT Work, and let it take on tasks that would have otherwise been outsourced, fallen to the wayside, or handled as one of the many hats an owner has to tackle,” OpenAI said in the release.

OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT Work on July 9, describing it as a new agent in ChatGPT that is designed for work that is more complex than a typical chat request. The company said ChatGPT Work can take action across the user’s apps and files; can spend hours on a project if needed; and can produce sheets, slides, docs, web apps and other finished materials.

In its Tuesday press release announcing the small business program, OpenAI said that small businesses need enterprise-grade technology, but in a way that is accessible and affordable.

“ChatGPT Work is also powered by GPT-5.6, our most advanced model available to businesses of any size and all subscription plans,” the company said. “Which means businesses can use the latest models and our most powerful agents, whether they are at their desk doing their deepest work, or on the go in between shifts. Small businesses can choose the right level of intelligence model for the work at hand, and together, they give lean teams more flexibility to balance quality, speed and cost.”

PYMNTS reported July 14 that Citadel Securities found that since the launch of ChatGPT, new U.S. business applications have risen and the median number of employees at seed-stage startups has fallen.

Citadel Securities said that a founder who once needed separate employees for accounting, marketing, customer service and compliance can use AI to pool those functions across a smaller team.

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