Converting inbound leads into customers at OpenAI

This is part of our series sharing internal examples of how OpenAI is using its own technology and APIs. These tools are being used internally, only at OpenAI, and are shared here as illustrative examples of how frontier AI is supporting use cases across our teams. We’re also sharing the internal tool names for a clearer look at how frontier AI helps our teams get work done.

When ChatGPT Enterprise and Business each launched, inbound demand surged. Tens of thousands of companies—from early-stage startups to multinational enterprises—were reaching out every month. The demand was remarkable. The strain on our systems was real.

Routing those leads through forms and static workflows couldn’t meet the moment. Too many prospects got an automated reply telling them to sign up online. Too few had their questions answered. The result was missed opportunities and a buying experience that didn’t match the trust customers were placing in us.

The challenge wasn’t just scale. It was quality. Buyers wanted specific answers:

• Is this product compliant in a healthcare environment?

• How do we compare plans and choose the right one?

• What results are peers in our industry seeing?

“We were getting thousands of leads a month and only had capacity to talk to a small fraction. Some leads needed a couple of questions answered to really make a great buying experience, but we weren’t able to provide that personalized experience,” says Harsha Chilakamarri, Go-to-Market Innovation.

Traditional automation couldn’t carry that nuance. Hiring linearly wasn’t sustainable. We needed a different approach.

Building the inbound sales assistant

We created an AI-powered inbound sales assistant designed not to replace reps, but to extend their reach—trained and refined with rep feedback.

That means prospects get a personalized response within minutes, written in their own language, grounded in their actual question.

This isn’t automation for its own sake. It’s automation that delivers value, right away.