OpenAI leans into teams

OpenAI is reshaping ChatGPT for workplaces, adding more controls for managers and more ways for teams to use shared company tools. (help.openai.com) On April 8, OpenAI said ChatGPT Business now supports shared Microsoft Outlook mailbox and calendar actions, including reading shared inboxes, moving messages, and sending plain-text email on behalf of a shared mailbox. OpenAI said workspace owners and admins should review those new permissions before turning them on. (help.openai.com) The same release notes show a March 27 update to Box, Notion, Linear, and Dropbox apps that added new actions, including write capabilities where supported, and an April 2 launch of usage-based Codex-only seats with no fixed monthly price. OpenAI also cut subscription-based ChatGPT Business seat prices by $5 a month and said eligible workspaces can earn up to $500 in Codex credits. (help.openai.com) Those changes push ChatGPT Business closer to office software than a standalone chatbot. Instead of only answering questions, the product can now reach into shared mailboxes, calendars, documents, and project tools that teams already use. (help.openai.com) OpenAI paired that product shift with a real-estate move in Britain on April 13, saying it signed a lease for its first permanent London office. CNBC reported the 88,500-square-foot space will hold more than 500 people, versus about 200 employees in London now. (cnbc.com) The London expansion follows OpenAI’s February announcement that London will become its largest research hub outside the United States. Reuters reported that plan as part of a broader push to hire more researchers in Britain’s artificial intelligence sector. (reuters.com) It also comes days after OpenAI paused its Stargate United Kingdom infrastructure project. CNBC reported on April 9 that OpenAI blamed energy costs and the regulatory environment, and said it would revisit the project when conditions support longer-term infrastructure investment. (cnbc.com) OpenAI has had a London presence since June 2023, when it announced the city as its first international office and said local teams would work on research, engineering, and go-to-market roles. The new lease turns that earlier foothold into a larger and more permanent base. (openai.com) Taken together, the April product updates and the London office lease show OpenAI spending less effort on one-person experimentation and more on the systems, permissions, and staffing that large organizations need to buy software at scale. (help.openai.com) (cnbc.com)