OpenAI marked the second anniversary of OpenAI Academy on September 23, 2026, outlining plans to expand community-based AI training. Launched in September 2024, the Academy teaches practical skills for activities such as classroom instruction, small-business operations, and software development.
Over its first two years, the Academy hosted more than 250 events, while more than 4 million people engaged with its content. Participants have included educators, small business owners, developers, nonprofit leaders, and community members.
The next stage includes a trainer program intended to equip people and organizations to teach Academy material locally, extending access to workshops and continuing support through community partners.
From initial access to role-specific learning
The Academy initially concentrated on developers and mission-driven organizations addressing local challenges, offering AI training, technical guidance, and opportunities to connect. Its offerings now include self-paced courses, practical guides, in-person workshops, and multi-site events called AI Skills Jams.
In September 2026, OpenAI also introduced learning paths for knowledge workers, developers, leaders, educators, and college students. Participants can select courses suited to their roles and earn Academy course badges by passing assessments.
The instruction centers on everyday applications. Examples include using ChatGPT to adapt a lesson, creating a repeatable customer-research process for a small business, or using Codex to plan and implement a software change while keeping review under the developer’s control.
OpenAI identifies hands-on practice as a particularly valuable part of the training: participants work on relevant tasks, exchange ideas with peers, and receive coaching from OpenAI mentors. The Academy plans to extend this approach to more communities through partner organizations.
Community partnerships
National and local partners help recruit participants and tailor programming to their communities’ needs. Their existing relationships support workshops grounded in the work participants do and the challenges they encounter.
These collaborations have produced recurring workshops for small business owners, educators, veterans, and nonprofit leaders, alongside larger events spanning multiple cities. An AI Skills Jam for K–12 Educators brought together more than 1,600 teachers, administrators, and district leaders in eight U.S. cities.
Preparing local trainers
OpenAI is piloting the OpenAI Academy Community Trainer Program to help partners run training themselves. Participating organizations nominate staff to study the Academy curriculum and learn workshop facilitation.
Preparation covers demonstrating useful workflows, helping participants apply AI to their own tasks, fostering peer learning, and guiding evaluation of results. Prospective trainers must complete training and a facilitation assessment before leading Academy sessions.
The pilot is intended to increase workshop availability while developing teaching capacity within schools, workforce organizations, small-business networks, and community groups. Its longer-term aim is to give more people access to local support as AI tools and their needs change.
Continuing development
The Academy will continue developing online courses, workshops, and Academy Jams using feedback from participants and partners. Alongside those offerings, the Community Trainer Program will support more local facilitators, with an emphasis on practice, shared learning, and confidence in everyday AI use.
Related updates
A related company update dated September 23, 2026, concerns Airbnb expanding access to GPT-6 Astra.
A September 21, 2026, company update covers an advisory group on mathematics and artificial intelligence.
Another company update dated September 21, 2026, covers new learning paths for OpenAI Academy.