OpenAI has announced two simultaneous market moves: the limited-availability launch of OpenAI Presence, an enterprise product for deploying Large Language Model (LLM)-backed agents across customer-facing and internal workflows, and an expansion of its ChatGPT Work platform to small businesses through a dedicated program backed by the company's latest GPT-5.6 model.
OpenAI Presence: Agentic Deployment for Enterprise
<cite index="1-1">OpenAI has introduced a product called Presence, designed to help enterprise customers deploy AI agents across customer-facing and internal workflows.</cite> <cite index="1-2">Presence supports voice and chat agents for use cases including customer support, outbound sales, and internal IT service requests.</cite>
<cite index="4-3">Presence combines several tools needed to operate enterprise agents, including company policies, standard operating procedures, permissions, guardrails, simulations, evaluation tools, and a Codex-powered improvement process.</cite> <cite index="1-3">Each deployment is scoped to a specific task, with the enterprise setting policies on what the agent can do, when it requires approval, and when a human should intervene.</cite>
<cite index="2-9">Presence includes tools that simulate real-world scenarios before deployment and continuously monitor production performance to identify weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.</cite> <cite index="4-8">After deployment, production interactions and escalations help identify problems, while Codex can suggest improvements that employees review before changes go live.</cite>
OpenAI is using its own infrastructure as a proof of concept. <cite index="1-5">OpenAI said Presence powers its own English-language phone support line and resolves 75% of inbound issues without human assistance.</cite> <cite index="1-6">The company said a Codex-driven improvement process reduced human handoffs by 15 percentage points within 10 days of launch.</cite>
<cite index="1-9,1-10,1-11">Presence is available to eligible enterprise customers through a limited general availability program. Deployments are led by OpenAI Forward Deployed Engineers and select systems integrators. The product is not available as a self-serve offering.</cite>
Early design partners named by OpenAI reflect a range of industries and geographies. <cite index="25-1">Early design partners include BBVA, SoftBank, and IAG.</cite> <cite index="26-1">SoftBank is testing natural Japanese-language customer conversations.</cite> <cite index="26-2">IAG is exploring timely support during high-demand events such as severe weather.</cite> BBVA, which <cite index="22-1">has been a flagship client for OpenAI since the signing of the strategic partnership between the two companies at the end of 2025</cite>, is using Presence to explore AI-powered voice support for financial services.
<cite index="7-3">In May 2026, OpenAI launched its own enterprise AI consulting and integration firm, the OpenAI Deployment Company, with investment and support from Bain & Company.</cite> Presence represents a closely related product layer — <cite index="7-1,7-2">more narrowly focused on AI-agent behavior, approved actions, evaluations, escalation and continuous improvement, and presented as a repeatable software product supported by engineers and systems integrators, rather than as consulting alone.</cite>
ChatGPT Work Expands to Small Businesses
In a parallel announcement, <cite index="14-1">OpenAI announced the launch of its ChatGPT for small businesses program, an initiative to help small businesses be more productive and scale their businesses with ChatGPT.</cite>
<cite index="13-4">ChatGPT Work is powered by GPT-5.6, the company's latest AI model, and is aimed at helping organizations automate workflows, improve decision-making and increase efficiency.</cite> <cite index="19-3">The program centers on ChatGPT Work, OpenAI's business-focused offering that sits between the consumer ChatGPT Plus tier and full enterprise deployments.</cite>
<cite index="10-3">ChatGPT Work handles document creation, workflow automation, and cross-platform integrations.</cite> <cite index="11-3">Examples of use cases include converting voice notes into concise Slack messages, generating real-time market trend reports, and developing training presentations from customer reviews.</cite>
<cite index="17-1">The ChatGPT small business program includes webinars that show small businesses how to use ChatGPT Work for accounting, marketing, eCommerce and other use cases, as well as in-person OpenAI Academy events that offer guided instruction and hands-on exercises.</cite> <cite index="19-5">OpenAI is packaging in training resources, skill-building modules, and structured onboarding designed specifically for entrepreneurs who may not have dedicated IT staff or AI expertise.</cite>
<cite index="14-6">ChatGPT Work and GPT-5.6 is available to small businesses today.</cite>
Competitive Context
The dual announcements come as the enterprise AI agent market intensifies. <cite index="7-5">OpenAI's chief U.S. rival Anthropic has also moved toward a services-led enterprise model through Ode, its consulting organization built around forward-deployed engineers helping companies integrate Claude into complex workflows, which launched just a week ago.</cite> <cite index="10-12">Google's Gemini continues to push deeper into workspace integrations.</cite> OpenAI's moves signal a strategic pivot beyond model access toward managed deployment and the broader small-to-medium business segment.