- eBay and Openai launch £ 3 million AI Activate Program
- 10,000 British SMBs get tailor -made AI training and guidance
- Chatgpt Enterprise and custom GPTs are on the cards too
Ebay and Openai have revealed a new 3 million -pound initiative, called AI Activate, to support UK Small Businesses with artificial intelligence.
The companies said that up to 10,000 small businesses selling on eBay would be aboard the program in 2025, giving them personal AI training and guidance, a dedicated eBay team to help them build customized GPTs and free access to Chatgpt Enterprise for a whole year.
The last two months of 2025 will focus on online education before companies are expanded to personal opportunities in 2026.
eBay and Openai will help UK SMBS
Ebay highlighted how SMBs account for about three -fifths of British employment and half of the private sector turnover. Previous government surveys revealed that at the beginning of 2024, 99.9% of Britain’s business population were SMBs, highlighting the extent of eBay’s initiative.
To date, 10 million eBay sellers have used the platform’s generative AI tools to create over 300 million lists that the company boasted.
“We want British small businesses to win nationally and globally, which means the latest AI tools cannot be the preservation of Big Business,” commented eBay UK General Manager Eve Williams. “They should be in the hands of every little business in the UK.”
The campaign will focus on unlocking AI’s benefits across economic analysis, marketing and promotion, inventory management and customer research.
“Giving small businesses the same tools and benefits as big retailers mean they can innovate and grow to exploit the AI era,” explained eBay chief AI officer Nitzan Mekel Bobrov.
Ebay added that 69%of online companies feel excited (43%) or curious (26%) about AI’s potential, but they lack the resources to make it work for them.
When he talked about AI Activate plan, Openai Chief Economist Ronnie Chatterji said: “If we want to close productivity gap, this is where to start.”
