OpenAI and America’s SBDC plan AI training for small businesses

OpenAI announced a partnership with America’s SBDC on September 30, 2026, to bring AI training to small businesses through Small Business Development Center networks across the United States. It says the initial phase will train around 150 advisers and aim to reach at least 1,000 businesses through in-person workshops. Those figures are plans for the pilot, not results already achieved.

The company is also releasing a report on how employees at smaller firms use its products. Taken together, the announcement sets out a route for owners to get local help while offering OpenAI’s view of demand for that help. The report’s usage figures describe activity on OpenAI tools; they do not show that the planned training has improved business performance.

What the OpenAI and SBDC pilot would offer

OpenAI says America’s SBDC plans to select advisers for training and credentialing through OpenAI Academy’s Community Trainer Program. Advisers would learn how to help owners choose a starting point, use AI responsibly and assess whether a tool is useful for their business. A separate facilitator pathway and workshop module are intended to prepare advisers and staff to lead group sessions.

The partners plan at least one Academy Workshop at each participating SBDC network. OpenAI says the sessions will follow its three-hour, hands-on format: owners would try ChatGPT on real business tasks and leave with a plan for using the tools. SBDC advisers are expected to follow up afterward to discuss questions and what has proved useful.

The announcement does not name the participating networks, provide workshop dates or explain how businesses will be selected. That leaves owners without a confirmed local schedule in the published plan. OpenAI says it will follow up with owners during the pilot about what helps, what they continue to use and where they need more support; it intends to use that feedback to shape later training and resources.

What OpenAI’s small-business usage figures measure

OpenAI says approximately 4 million employees at companies with fewer than 500 people used its products worldwide during September 9–15. Nearly one in five of those users worked at a business with fewer than 10 employees, it says. The 4 million figure counts employees using OpenAI products in one week. It is not a count of distinct businesses, or a measure of AI use across all providers.

The company reports another change in activity: output tokens associated with agentic work in products including ChatGPT Work and Codex accounted for two-thirds of small-business output tokens in August, compared with one-third in April 2026. Tokens are units of model processing and generation. A larger share does not, by itself, establish time saved, higher revenue or improved productivity.

In OpenAI’s sample, finance and accounting, supply chain, legal and compliance, and marketing each accounted for at least three times as large a share of small-business users’ interactions with AI agents as they did for larger-business users. These are relative shares of interactions within its sample, not estimates of how many businesses use AI for each task.

The announcement includes customer accounts to illustrate possible uses. Ted and Tami Taylor, who run three restaurants in New Mexico, used ChatGPT Work to compare competitors’ menu prices before updating their own, according to OpenAI. The company also says Teri Moten used it to research school districts and prepare outreach that she reviewed and sent, and reported booking a paid training session within ten days. These are OpenAI-published examples, not independently evaluated evidence of a typical outcome.

How the figures compare with wider AI adoption data

A U.S. Census Bureau analysis published in May offers a different measure: whether businesses reported using AI in any business function. Reviewing its Business Trends and Outlook Survey data through May 3, the bureau found that fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees reported using AI. It said AI use had increased among firms with at least 20 employees between December 2025 and May 2026, but had not changed significantly among firms with fewer than 20 employees.

The Census survey asks businesses about AI use in the previous two weeks and expected use in the next six months. Its question was broadened in November 2025 to cover any business function. That survey and OpenAI’s September product-use count have different populations, time periods and measures, so their percentages and totals should not be read as competing estimates of the same thing.

The pilot’s stated next step is adviser training followed by workshops and local support. Its published targets offer a way to judge the program’s reach once delivery can be documented. For now, the announcement supplies plans and company-reported product activity, while leaving open whether participating owners will keep using the tools or see measurable business gains.