Bringing Practical AI Skills to Southeast Asia

OpenAI and Grab have officially launched a regional skilling initiative named GO Forward with AI. Announced by [OpenAI News](https://openai.com/index/grab-openai-ai-skills-southeast-asia/), the program is designed to help 30,000 of Grab’s driver-, delivery-, and merchant-partners across Southeast Asia build practical artificial intelligence skills for their everyday work and business ventures.

Across the region, merchants make constant daily decisions regarding stock, sales, and promotions, while gig economy workers frequently explore side businesses. Although artificial intelligence can assist with these challenges, finding effective and useful ways to apply it often requires hands-on guidance and practice.

Rollout Schedule Across the Region

The GO Forward with AI program rolls out initially in Singapore as part of the broader [OpenAI for Singapore ⁠](https://openai.com/index/introducing-openai-for-singapore/) initiative, which aims to help local residents and businesses put advanced technology to work. Following the launch in Singapore, the program is scheduled to expand into Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines later in the year, with subsequent expansion planned for Malaysia and Vietnam in 2027.

According to Grab data from a recent survey of driver-partners in Singapore, half of the surveyed driver and delivery workers already utilize AI tools. Furthermore, among those who do not currently use them, an overwhelming 87 percent indicated they remain open to trying them, with ChatGPT recognized as the most familiar tool.

Hands-On Workshops and Curriculum

The curriculum for GO Forward with AI is structured around real-world decisions faced by platform workers and merchants. Driver and delivery partners can utilize ChatGPT to explore business ideas, plan distinguishing features, and map out initial execution steps. Meanwhile, merchant partners can employ the technology to identify sales patterns, plan future promotions, and anticipate changes in demand.

Participants will also attend half-day, in-person workshops across the region over the coming months. These sessions are adapted from the OpenAI Academy curriculum to fit specific local needs and will feature hands-on practice with ChatGPT Work for larger tasks, such as building simple websites, turning raw sales data into interactive dashboards, or drafting comprehensive business expansion plans.

Building on Previous Collaboration

This initiative represents a significant extension of an ongoing partnership between the two companies. Since 2024, Grab and OpenAI have worked together on technological tools such as the Driver AI Assistant. Powered by OpenAI models, that system has already reached close to 500,000 drivers by helping them find demand, optimize their time, and navigate everyday work questions.

Oliver Jay, Managing Director of International at OpenAI, noted that while ChatGPT has experienced strong adoption across Southeast Asia, many users are only beginning to leverage its full potential. The newly launched program aims to give platform workers and merchants the confidence and capability to utilize agentic AI capabilities for long-term growth and operational efficiency.

Empowering Local Communities

Ong Chin Yin, Chief Organisational Capability Officer at Grab, emphasized that the collaboration seeks to level the playing field by providing practical guidance. Because individual merchants and gig workers typically lack large teams to analyze information or develop concepts, proper training enables them to use AI tools to handle these tasks independently.

In addition to direct workshops for participants, the program will train GrabAcademy trainers so that the educational framework can scale and reach even more community members over time. By tailoring workshop content to local requirements as the initiative expands beyond Singapore, Grab and OpenAI aim to ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence remain accessible, meaningful, and practical for everyone involved.

Sources

• OpenAI NewsGrab and OpenAI bring practical AI skills to Southeast Asia