Artificial intelligence leader OpenAI said Monday it is releasing a version of ChatGPT targeted at large businesses, increasing the overlap in what OpenAI and its financial backer Microsoft offer to customers.
ChatGPT Enterprise provides enhanced security, privacy and high-speed access to OpenAI’s technology, the company said. Early customers included the Block, Carlyle, and Estee Lauder companies.
When OpenAI released the consumer-focused ChatGPT in November, it set off a frenzy of use of generative AI in daily tasks from writing to coding, and reached 100 million monthly active users in January.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that many people in the US have used ChatGPT to help with work-related tasks, even though their employers discourage it.
With the launch of ChatGPT Enterprise, OpenAI hopes that employers will feel comfortable adopting the use of ChatGPT at work.
Microsoft already provides businesses with access to ChatGPT through its Azure OpenAI service, although businesses must be customers of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, to use it.
ChatGPT enterprise customers are not required to subscribe to Azure, OpenAI said. OpenAI and Microsoft have previously offered overlapping services, and it’s unclear how much the two companies are competing for customers.
When asked whether ChatGPT competes with Microsoft for enterprise customers, an OpenAI spokesperson said that “customers can choose which platform is right for their business.”
