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What is it?
OpenAI is an American AI company that conducts fundamental research and develops commercial AI products and services. Founded in 2015, it has established itself as one of the most influential players in the AI sector through the introduction of the GPT model series, Codex, and DALL-E, and through the widespread public use of ChatGPT.
For businesses OpenAI is relevant as a supplier of language models via the OpenAI API, as a platform partner through ChatGPT Enterprise, and as a reference point for what modern AI models can do. The organisation works closely with Microsoft, which has made a major investment and integrates the models into its products.
Why it matters for SMEs
For SMEs, OpenAI is the most accessible gateway to capable language models. Its products and APIs are broadly documented, supported by a large ecosystem of tools and integrations, and available across a wide price range.
- ChatGPT is for many employees the first concrete encounter with AI: it lowers the barrier to experimenting with writing, summarising, and answering questions without any technical setup.
- The OpenAI API makes it possible to integrate GPT models into your own applications and workflows, from automated email processing to internal knowledge assistants.
- OpenAI sets de facto standards: concepts such as GPT, prompt engineering, and function calling originate in the OpenAI ecosystem and have become leading terms across the broader AI sector.
At the same time it is sensible not to build exclusively on OpenAI. The market has several strong providers, and spreading across providers reduces dependency and gives flexibility when prices change or models become outdated.
How it works
OpenAI offers its technology through two channels: products for end users and an API for developers and businesses.
- End-user products: ChatGPT, ChatGPT Enterprise, and tools such as DALL-E and Sora are accessible directly via a browser or app.
- API access: via the OpenAI API you send requests to a model, for example GPT-4o, and receive a response back. You pay per volume of text processed, measured in tokens.
- Model selection: OpenAI offers models at different speed-to-quality ratios. You choose the model that fits the task and the budget.
- Integration into your workflows: via the API you connect OpenAI to your own applications, automation platforms such as n8n or Make, or AI frameworks.
- Control and boundaries: via system prompts and API settings you configure the model's behaviour for your application.
OpenAI also offers a playground environment where you can test models directly without writing code, which is useful for assessing whether a model is suited to your purpose.
Example in practice
Picture a staffing agency wanting to screen incoming CVs automatically against a vacancy profile. A colleague connects the mailbox to the OpenAI API via an automation tool: each incoming CV is sent as text to the GPT model with an instruction to assess it against five criteria from the vacancy profile. The model returns a score and explanation for each criterion; the recruiter sees an overview of all received CVs with their scores and can immediately prioritise which candidates to call.
Comparison and misconceptions
OpenAI is the company; GPT is the model series it develops; ChatGPT is the end-user product built on GPT. Alternatives include Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), and Meta (Llama). The choice between providers depends on factors such as model performance for your specific task, pricing model, data location, and the degree of integration with your existing tools.
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