- Booking.com has partnered with OpenAI to offer training in Europe
- Six countries will benefit from free in-person training, virtual sessions and courses from the OpenAI Academy
- OpenAI also wants to stimulate European research on the safety and well-being of young people, and support its governments.
OpenAI has partnered with Booking.com to launch a new program designed to help 20,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Europe adopt and use AI tools in their business operations.
The new co-developed program is expected to provide free hands-on training to demonstrate selected AI use cases and its benefits in terms of productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.
It will be available in part through the relatively new OpenAI Academy, similar to U.S. upskilling efforts, but there will also be in-person workshops and virtual sessions to reinforce learning.
From its launch, the “SME AI Accelerator” program will be available in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The companies explained that the new program responds to relatively low adoption of AI among SMEs – while 55% of large companies were using AI in 2025, according to Eurostat data cited in the announcement, only 17% of SMEs did so. Given that SMEs represent 99% of all European businesses, there is huge potential for training and deployment.
Yet European use of AI impresses on a global scale, with the EU using thinking capabilities 17% more advanced than the global average.
“AI is accelerating change across all industries, creating transformative opportunities for growth and innovation for businesses of all sizes,” wrote James Waters, chief commercial officer of Booking.com. “Building a strong and successful AI ecosystem in Europe is essential to unlocking these opportunities.”
Dates, locations and organizations that will support local delivery are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The Europe-specific SME AI Accelerator is part of a broader EU plan, Economic Plan 2.0, which also sets out plans to support research into the safety and well-being of young people and provide governments with access to OpenAI for Europe.
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