Grab announces new Thailand initiative with OpenAI

Grab and OpenAI Bring Practical AI Training to Thailand’s Gig Workforce

Earthguardiansonline.com – Grab is expanding its effort to make artificial intelligence more useful for everyday workers in Thailand, teaming up with OpenAI on a training initiative for drivers, merchants and other service providers who use the platform.

The Singapore-based technology company plans to train 3,000 gig workers in Thailand through hands-on workshops designed to show how AI can support income opportunities, customer relationships and business development. Each participant will also receive complimentary access to ChatGPT Plus for three months.

The Thailand program, called “GO Forward with AI,” is part of a regional partnership announced by Grab and OpenAI last month. Over the next two years, the companies aim to provide AI upskilling opportunities to more than 30,000 gig workers and entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia.

Training focused on day-to-day work

Rather than treating AI as a purely technical subject, the workshops are intended to connect the technology with tasks participants already face in their work and businesses. Training will be delivered through the Grab Driver App, giving partners a familiar place to access the material.

Topics will include customer engagement, retention, marketing, branding, personal finance and first aid. For drivers and small merchants, these subjects can be directly relevant to communicating with customers, presenting a business more effectively, considering new ideas and managing practical responsibilities.

Grab’s goal is to help participants move beyond simple, one-time prompts. The company sees potential for workers to use agentic AI capabilities to hand off multi-step assignments, create basic websites and establish repeatable workflows that may save time or support new commercial activities.

“Giving accessibility is just one thing. It’s how do you translate it again to earnings to their pocket, upskilling, reskilling every one of them, and that’s why today I’m here in Thailand,” Grab CEO Anthony Tan said at CNN’s Global Perspectives event in Bangkok.

The emphasis on practical application reflects a broader question around AI adoption: access to a tool does not automatically mean people know how to use it effectively. Workers may be curious about AI but still need examples, guidance and confidence before they can apply it to real decisions or services.

A broader Southeast Asian rollout

Thailand is the latest market included in the regional program. The initiative began in Singapore before extending to Thailand, with launches in Indonesia and the Philippines also planned later this year.

Grab operates across eight countries and more than 900 cities in Southeast Asia. The company started as a ride-hailing business before developing into a broader platform offering food delivery, digital payments and business services for local small enterprises.

That reach gives the company an established connection to a large and varied group of drivers, delivery partners, sellers and entrepreneurs. The new program is designed around the different ways those partners may use AI, whether they are serving customers directly, promoting a small business or exploring an additional source of income.

“Our partners are intrigued by AI, and many are looking for practical guidance on how to apply it in ways that are relevant to their work, businesses and aspirations,” said Ong Chin Yin, Grab’s chief organizational capability officer, in the September statement.

“This program is about building that confidence – whether it’s helping a merchant make smarter business decisions or giving a driver-partner the tools to explore a new business idea and create new opportunities for growth,” she added.

For small operators, AI can potentially help organize ideas, draft marketing material, structure customer messages or evaluate business concepts. The value of the workshops will depend on whether participants can adapt those tools to their own needs while retaining control over important decisions and customer interactions.

Building on an existing partnership

Grab and OpenAI have worked together since 2024. Their collaboration has already produced several AI features, including the in-app Driver AI Assistant. Grab says that tool has reached more than 500,000 drivers and has helped them identify demand, improve earning opportunities and handle routine questions.

The training initiative extends that partnership from platform features into skills development. It is intended to give workers a clearer understanding of what AI can do, as well as the ability to adjust as the technology develops.

“As we enter a new era of AI capabilities, it’s not enough for people to simply have access to AI. They also need the skills and confidence to use it, adapt as the technology changes, and share in the progress it creates,” said Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s Asia Pacific managing director, in a Wednesday statement.

“People across Thailand are already embracing AI, and through GO Forward with AI, we’re excited to work with Grab to turn that interest into practical skills,” he added.

For Thailand’s platform workers and small businesses, the initiative offers a structured introduction to using AI for concrete goals instead of abstract experimentation. As digital tools become more common in service work and entrepreneurship, the program is positioning AI literacy as a capability that can support both existing work and future business ideas.