OpenAI Academy: practical courses on AI agents and workflows

What has changed: OpenAI Academy enters professional training

On June 12, 2026, OpenAI has published three new courses on the Academy platform , dedicated to the application of artificial intelligence in the workplace. These are not introductory contents. In fact, the paths are aimed at professionals who want to build concrete operational skills.

The three courses cover different yet complementary areas. The first is about building practical skills in using AI. The second focuses on creating repeatable and scalable workflows. The third one, instead, tackles using AI agents in real work scenarios. So, OpenAI's training lineup shapes up as a pro tool, not just a basic intro to the topic.

This announcement drops at just the right time. Companies everywhere are trying to turn AI excitement into real, measurable edge. Still, the gap between being interested and actually using it on the daily is pretty big, especially for small and medium businesses.

Course content: three operational angles

The first course is called Applying AI at Work and addresses the daily use of AI tools in professional contexts. The goal is to build augmented work habits, not replace existing skills. Therefore, the focus is on integration, not substitution.

The second track covers building repeatable workflows . Specifically, it teaches how to design workflows that can be automated or semi-automated with AI. This is one of the highest-impact areas for SMEs, where manual and repetitive tasks are still a huge hidden cost.

The third course introduces AI agents : autonomous systems capable of executing complex tasks sequentially. Just like human assistants, agents can handle research, document drafting, data analysis, and interactions with other digital tools. However, they require careful configuration and a prepared organizational context.

All three courses are available for free on the Academy platform. So, the barrier to entry is low. The real challenge, though, is internal application.

The immediate impact on Italian SMEs

For Italian SMEs, this training offer represents a real opportunity. In fact, many medium-sized companies don't have structured IT teams. As a result, quality self-service training is one of the few accessible tools to bridge the skills gap.

According to data McKinsey Global Institute , over 60% of companies that have adopted AI in a structured way have recorded measurable improvements in productivity. However, the same research highlights that the main obstacle is not technological: it is the lack of internal skills.

OpenAI Academy courses address this exact problem. Furthermore, the fact that they are designed for the real work context—and not for developers or researchers—makes them particularly relevant for roles such as marketing managers, operations managers, sales account executives, and project coordinators.

In particular, retail and B2B SMEs can immediately benefit from the repeatable workflows module. Processes like customer inquiry management, periodic report production, or digital campaign monitoring are ideal candidates for AI-assisted automation.

What the courses don't tell you: organizational context matters

Training is necessary, but not sufficient. This is a point that is often underestimated. In fact, even the best course won't produce results if the organization isn't ready to embrace the changes.

According to Harvard Business Review , the companies that get the best results from adopting AI are the ones that combine individual training with an organizational-level process redesign. Therefore, training a single employee without redesigning the workflow around them has a limited impact.

We at SHM Studio we see this pattern frequently in Italian SMEs. A marketing manager takes a course, picks up skills, but then runs into legacy tools, rigid processes, and a company culture that doesn't support experimentation. As a result, their potential goes untapped.

Also, it should be noted that AI agents — the topic of the third course — require a non-trivial level of digital maturity. Before implementing them, it is necessary to have accessible APIs, structured data, and a clear definition of objectives. Without this, the risk is building fragile automations that are hard to maintain.

How to integrate Academy courses into a structured digital strategy

The recommended path isn't simply "signing up for courses." It's more structured than that. First of all, it's helpful to do an assessment of current skills and the processes that could benefit from AI.

Next, you can figure out which Academy course modules are most relevant to your role and situation. Not all three courses are equally top priority for every job. So, picking and choosing carefully works way better than just doing everything.

Finally, the skills acquired should be applied to real internal cases, even small ones. For example, automating the production of a weekly report or structuring a workflow for managing inbound requests. These quick wins solidify learning and demonstrate the value of AI to colleagues and management.

For SMEs looking to speed up this journey, the digital marketing services and the activities of AI consulting from SHM Studio can support the internal team in defining the roadmap and operational implementation. Furthermore, our experience with google ads campaigns and LinkedIn campaigns it allows us to integrate AI directly into our customer acquisition workflows.

The outlook: where this direction is leading by 2027

The OpenAI Academy initiative is not alone. Similarly, other platforms like Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic are investing in professional AI training paths. This signals a clear trend: AI literacy will become a standard requirement for many job roles by 2027-2028.

According to Gartner , by 2028 over 33% of business software interactions will involve autonomous AI agents. Consequently, the skills introduced by the third Academy course are not a preview of the future: they are preparation for the near present.

For Italian SMEs, this means the time to build internal skills is right now. Waiting for AI to become «more mature» or «simpler» is a risky strategy. In fact, companies that start today will build a competitive advantage that will be hard for latecomers to catch up with.

We at SHM Studio we support this process in a hands-on way. From SEO Strategy to the web design , all the way to content production optimized for search engines, we integrate AI as an operational lever in every area of digital marketing. To learn more, you can visit our Blog or contact us directly .