Grab, OpenAI to train 3,000 Thai drivers and merchants on ChatGPT for extra income

Grab and OpenAI have started a programme in Thailand to teach more than 3,000 of Grab's drivers, delivery riders and merchants how to use ChatGPT in their work. The ride-hailing and delivery company announced the Thai programme, called GO Forward with AI, on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. It is the second country in a wider Southeast Asian partnership between the two companies, announced the month before, which aims to train more than 30,000 gig workers and small business owners across the region over two years. Workers who attend the in-person sessions get three months of ChatGPT Plus, OpenAI's paid subscription, free of charge.

Most AI training schemes are aimed at office workers, software engineers or students. This one targets people who earn their living through an app: drivers who carry passengers, riders who deliver food and parcels, and the small restaurants and shops that sell through Grab. These workers are usually left out of company training budgets because they are partners on a platform rather than employees. Grab is treating AI skills as something that can raise their earnings, which also matters to Grab, since its business depends on these partners staying active and doing well.

The programme splits its content by the kind of work people do. According to Grab's Thailand leadership, merchants will learn to use what they know about their customers to plan better marketing campaigns. Drivers and riders will look at new ideas for earning extra income alongside their driving. The wider GrabAcademy curriculum also covers customer engagement, branding, personal finance, investing, affiliate marketing and basic first aid. In practical terms, a small food seller might use ChatGPT to write menu descriptions or promotional messages, while a driver might use it to plan a side business or manage money.

For OpenAI, the partnership puts its tools in front of workers who may never have paid for an AI service, and three free months of the paid version lets them see what it can do. For Grab, it is a way to make its platform more attractive to the workers and merchants it competes for with rival apps.

There is a lesson here for India, where large numbers of people earn through ride-hailing, food delivery and quick-commerce apps. The Grab model shows how a platform and an AI company can work together to bring generative AI tools to workers who would otherwise not be reached, and how such training can be tied to earning more rather than to abstract certification.

Short-term: Thousands of Grab drivers, riders and merchants in Thailand will be able to join workshops and try ChatGPT Plus without paying for it. Small merchants may see the quickest benefit, since writing promotions and replying to customers are tasks the tool can help with straight away.

Long-term: If the training leads to better earnings, it could become a model for other platforms in the region and beyond, including in India. The bigger question is whether workers keep using the paid tool after the free period ends, and whether the skills translate into real income gains. Neither company has yet published figures on results.

Who is affected: Grab drivers, delivery riders and merchants in Thailand and, as the programme spreads, in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam; small business owners who sell through delivery apps; rival platforms that compete with Grab for the same workers; and policymakers in Asia, including India, who are looking for ways to make the gig economy a better career ladder.

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