September 30, 2026, (Inside AI) — OpenAI is partnering with America's SBDC, the national network of small business development centers, to train roughly 150 advisors and reach at least 1,000 small businesses through in-person workshops and one-on-one advising. The initiative, announced today, aims to help entrepreneurs use AI tools like ChatGPT Work for tasks such as marketing, finance, and customer communications.
The partnership comes as new data shows small firms are rapidly adopting AI. In a single week from September 9 to 15, about 4 million employees at companies with fewer than 500 people used OpenAI's products, according to a company report titled Small Businesses, Bigger Capabilities. Nearly one in five of those users worked at businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
"Small businesses are built on ambition: a craft you've perfected, a skill to share, a better way to serve a community," the report notes, highlighting the challenges owners face in finding customers and managing operations with limited time and staff.
The SBDC pilot, part of OpenAI Academy's Community Trainer Program, will embed AI training into the existing network of advisors who serve 1 million entrepreneurs annually. The goal is to provide hands-on help where owners already seek guidance.
Read: Lenfest Institute Expands AI Fellowship With $5M OpenAI Backing
Agentic AI Reshapes Small Business Tasks
The report reveals a striking shift toward agentic AI, where models autonomously perform tasks. In August, agentic output tokens for products like ChatGPT Work and Codex made up two-thirds of all small business output tokens, up from just one-third in April 2026. This surge indicates small teams are delegating complex workflows to AI.
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 areas where small teams often lack dedicated specialists.
For some owners, AI fills critical gaps. Ted and Tami Taylor, who run three restaurants in New Mexico, used ChatGPT Work to compare competitors' menu prices before updating their own. The analysis helped them avoid price increases that would have made some items uncompetitive. Ted says they would otherwise have skipped the comparison.
Teri Moten used ChatGPT Work to research school districts in South Texas and prepare tailored outreach that she reviewed and sent. She reports booking a paid training session within ten days of starting that outreach.
These examples illustrate how AI can extend a small team's capacity without adding headcount. The partnership aims to scale such successes by leveraging SBDC's trusted relationships with local owners.
Read: Microsoft revamps Copilot into AI 'super app' with coding tools, always-on agent
OpenAI's previous efforts include Small Business AI Jams in five U.S. cities last November with DoorDash, SCORE, and local organizations, and the ChatGPT for small business program launched in July 2026. The SBDC collaboration extends these by integrating AI training into ongoing advisory services.
Throughout the pilot, OpenAI and SBDC will follow up with owners to understand what's helping and where more support is needed. What they learn will shape future training and resources.
For small business owners considering AI, the message is clear: help is on the way, and early adopters are already seeing results.
