Online marketplace eBay and OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has launched a new £3 million programme providing AI training for up to 10,000 small businesses.
The AI Activate scheme, which is available to small firms selling on eBay, will offer access to ChatGPT Enterprise for up to 12 months, as well as tailored training in areas such as managing financial analysis, creating promotional campaigns and effective research.
Training will take place online and in person.
Eve Williams, general manager at eBay UK, said:
“The issue is no longer whether businesses should adopt AI. It is how quickly they can start before their competitors do. Those businesses and economies that don’t invest in AI now risk being left behind. That’s why eBay is investing to put world-class AI in the hands of small businesses and entrepreneurs, with no charge to them.”
Ronnie Chatterji, chief economist at OpenAI, said:
“Small businesses power the UK economy, accounting for over 99% of the UK’s firms. Yet for too long, they have not had the tools to drive increases in productivity the way larger firms do. This collaboration could change that. By putting world-class AI tools in the hands of 10,000 UK entrepreneurs, we’re investing in the UK’s economic engine. If we want to close the productivity gap, this is where to start.”
Blair McDougall, minister for small business and economic transformation, said:
“Increasing SME growth by just 1% per year could deliver a whopping £320 billion to the economy by 2030.
“Our small business strategy is giving SMEs the tools they need, this includes acting on the recommendations of the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce, launching new digital adoption pilots and partnering with wider industry to provide support like this initiative from eBay and OpenAI.”
The programme starts in November. Businesses can register their interest here.