OpenAI Academy adds courses that take workplace teams from prompts to agents

Three new learning paths cover AI fundamentals, repeatable workflows and agent-assisted work, with completion certificates and enterprise use cases.

OpenAI Academy has introduced three courses covering AI fundamentals, repeatable workplace workflows and agent-assisted work

OpenAI has added three courses to OpenAI Academy to train workplace teams in core AI use, repeatable processes and agent-assisted workflows.

The courses, AI Foundations, Applied AI Foundations, and Agents and Workflows, form a staged learning pathway. They move from prompting and output review into workflow design, tool selection, human checkpoints and the management of AI agents.

OpenAI is positioning the courses for employee onboarding, enterprise learning programs and wider AI adoption initiatives. The training is aimed at workers applying AI to everyday tasks, as well as organizations trying to turn individual experimentation into shared processes.

The courses have been developed as OpenAI works with organizations including Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Accenture and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) on workplace AI skills and adoption.

OpenAI Academy now provides a certificate after each completed course. OpenAI said the three additions are the beginning of a broader learning roadmap, with further role-based pathways, organizational reporting and course updates planned as its products develop.

From everyday prompting to repeatable workflows

AI Foundations introduces the principles needed to use AI in routine workplace activity. Course content covers prompting, supplying relevant context, reviewing outputs and applying AI responsibly.

OpenAI lists drafting, summarizing, planning and meeting preparation among the tasks addressed in the course. The focus is on giving learners a common set of working practices rather than training them around a single role or sector.

Applied AI Foundations moves beyond individual prompts and asks learners to structure repeatable workflows. Participants develop a workflow plan covering inputs, models, tools, review points and human oversight.

The course also covers the trade-offs between output quality, speed and cost. OpenAI said the aim is to help learners turn a successful AI interaction into a process that can be reused and improved.

Agents and Workflows focuses on directing work completed with assistance from AI agents. Learners are taught to provide context, define outputs, set boundaries and review results, while identifying the points at which human judgment remains necessary.

Lois Newman, who works in customer education at OpenAI, wrote in a LinkedIn post: "Today, we’re introducing three new courses on OpenAI Academy: AI Foundations, Applied AI Foundations, and Agents and Workflows. Together, they give teams a shared path from understanding AI, to applying it to recurring work, to directing more structured workflows with agents."

Together, the courses are structured to take a learner from improving one workplace task to planning a reusable workflow and then running an agent-assisted process.

Courses designed for organization-wide AI adoption

Academy content draws on work across OpenAI research, product, safety and deployment teams, as well as its experience supporting organizations introducing AI into existing operations.

The curriculum is intended to change alongside OpenAI’s models and products. This could allow course material to incorporate new product capabilities, updated safety practices and lessons from enterprise deployments without requiring employers to build all training internally.

Organizations can use the courses as a common starting point for employees with different levels of experience. OpenAI said they can also support more established AI programs where workers are already using tools individually but have not yet converted those uses into documented and repeatable workflows.

Elena Alfaro, Head of Global AI Adoption at BBVA, says: "We welcome initiatives such as OpenAI Academy that help professionals build practical AI skills and better understand how to apply these technologies in their everyday work."

The courses focus on practice connected to learners’ own work rather than abstract instruction alone. That includes applying AI to real tasks, defining the data and tools needed, testing outputs and deciding where approval or human intervention should sit within a workflow.

The Agents and Workflows course also places boundaries and review alongside execution. OpenAI said learners should be able to identify where an agent can complete structured work and where human judgment or oversight is still required.

Dr. Lan Guan, Chief AI and Data Officer at Accenture, says: "Scaling AI adoption is not just about giving people access to technology. It requires the learning systems, confidence, and new ways of working that help people apply AI every day."

She adds: "OpenAI Academy is an important part of how we are helping our people build the practical skills, workflows, and habits to use AI responsibly and effectively. Together, we can bring that same hands-on approach to clients as they scale AI across their workforces."

Certificates and further learning paths

Learners receive a completion certificate for each course, which can be shared with teams and professional networks.

Organizations can use the certificates to recognize participation, identify employees developing new AI workflows and connect workers who are testing similar applications.

The certificates confirm course completion rather than independently assessed professional accreditation. The information provided does not set out formal examinations, graded assessments or external accreditation attached to the courses.

OpenAI plans to expand reporting capabilities for organizations, although it has not specified what data employers will receive or when the reporting features will become available.

Further Academy learning paths are also planned for additional roles and use cases. OpenAI said existing courses will be updated as its products, deployment practices and safety guidance change.

The three courses are available through OpenAI Academy. Organizations seeking to incorporate them into enterprise learning or AI adoption programs are being directed to their OpenAI account team or the company’s sales channel.