OpenAI introduced its small business program, combining hands-on training, AI academies, implementation guides, and partner-built plugins and skills from companies including Intuit, Shopify, Slack, Dropbox, Atlassian, and Wix. The program advances a consequential ambition: OpenAI wants ChatGPT to become the place where small-business owners initiate work.
The partner list maps the operating systems of a modern small business. Intuit handles money, Shopify handles commerce, Slack handles communication, Dropbox handles files, Atlassian handles projects, and Wix handles websites. ChatGPT Work can operate across connected applications and files, while the partner program adds plugins and skills for common small-business workflows. An owner can begin with an objective instead of deciding which application to open and how to coordinate the process.
This shift shines a bright light on the new strategies, tactics, and economics of SMB software. The agents are going to have an outsized impact on which applications are required, what data gets exposed, and how the various outputs are assembled.
A two-person ChatGPT Business workspace starts at $40 per month when billed annually. OpenAI’s training program is designed to address the harder adoption problem: teaching owners to convert daily responsibilities into repeatable AI workflows.
It’s already a crowded space. Microsoft embeds Copilot throughout its productivity suite, Google puts Gemini inside Workspace, and Anthropic launched Claude for Small Business in May, offering connectors and ready-to-run workflows across the applications small businesses already use.
Every company needs a Claw strategy. Do you have one?
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.