OpenAI Releases a Technical Playbook for Enterprise AI Integration

OpenAI has published a strategic report, AI in the Enterprise, detailing how leading organizations have integrated AI into their workflows. Drawing on partnerships with companies like Morgan Stanley, Indeed, Klarna, Lowe’s, BBVA, Mercado Libre, and OpenAI itself, the guide outlines a framework built on seven core lessons for adopting AI at scale.

Unlike traditional IT deployments, enterprise AI adoption demands continuous iteration, deep customization, and tight integration with existing business systems. This blog summarizes the report’s key takeaways, emphasizing a technical and methodical approach over quick wins.

1. Begin with Structured Evaluation

Morgan Stanley’s deployment began with “evals”—rigorous frameworks to benchmark AI model outputs. These evaluations assessed translation, summarization, and domain expert comparison to validate performance and safety. This structured approach enabled the firm to scale its AI usage: 98% of advisors now use OpenAI tools daily, and document access rose from 20% to 80%.

2. Embed AI in Core Product Experiences

Indeed integrated GPT-4o mini into its job recommendation engine, allowing it to generate contextual explanations for why a job matched a candidate. This added transparency led to a 20% increase in applications and a 13% improvement in employer engagement. A custom fine-tuned model later reduced token usage by 60%, illustrating how thoughtful integration and optimization can scale impact efficiently.

3. Invest Early to Capture Compounding Benefits

Klarna’s early AI investments have led to measurable improvements. Their AI assistant now handles two-thirds of support interactions, cutting resolution times from 11 minutes to 2. With 90% of employees using AI regularly, the organization has accelerated internal innovation and achieved $40M in projected profit improvements.

4. Fine-Tune for Specific Use Cases

Lowe’s enhanced its e-commerce search engine by fine-tuning GPT-3.5 on proprietary product data. This improved product tagging accuracy by 20% and error detection by 60%. OpenAI emphasizes that fine-tuning is essential for domain adaptation, enabling models to reflect internal language, formats, and industry nuances.

5. Put AI in the Hands of Experts

Rather than centralizing AI development, BBVA empowered employees to build custom GPT applications. In five months, over 2,900 custom GPTs were created to streamline processes in legal, compliance, customer service, and credit risk. This approach reduced time-to-value and ensured AI was applied where it was most needed.

6. Support Developers with Scalable Tooling

Mercado Libre tackled developer bottlenecks by building Verdi, an internal platform powered by GPT-4o. It allows teams to develop AI-powered apps through natural language while maintaining security and logic guardrails. Use cases include fraud detection (99% accuracy), multilingual product descriptions, and inventory optimization—demonstrating how AI tooling can expand developer capacity.

7. Set Automation Targets Early

OpenAI’s internal use of automation showcases the impact of setting bold goals. A custom automation layer integrated with Gmail helps teams craft responses, retrieve data, and initiate workflows. Hundreds of thousands of tasks are now handled autonomously each month, freeing teams for more strategic work.

Conclusion

The AI in the Enterprise report makes a compelling case for structured, iterative AI integration grounded in real-world use. Rather than rushing adoption, OpenAI advises starting small, investing early, fine-tuning for relevance, and scaling from high-impact use cases.

Across all seven examples, a common thread emerges: effective enterprise AI is built on disciplined experimentation, robust tooling, and empowering the people closest to the problems. For technical and business leaders, OpenAI’s playbook offers a clear and actionable blueprint for long-term AI success.

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