On Sunday, OpenAI finance chief, Sarah Friar, declared the company will focus on practical AI adoption in 2026, using AI agent workflows to enhance daily operations and bridge the gap between AI research and real-world usage, according to a blog post.
OpenAI’s strategy is to move AI from experimentation to routine work, as the tech industry is scrutinized for massive investments in data centers and energy. Friar highlighted that carefully managed infrastructure and AI agent workflows will support measurable adoption.
Practical AI Adoption
The incoming phase depends on AI agent workflows. OpenAI’s revenue growth is tightly linked to computing power, and its compute power grew from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to 1.9 gigawatts in 2025, with annual revenue rising from $2 billion to over $20 billion.
“This is never-before-seen growth at such scale,” she wrote. “And we firmly believe that more compute in these periods would have led to faster customer adoption and monetization.”
In her opinion, more compute could have accelerated customer adoption and monetization through AI agents workflow automation.
Three years ago, OpenAI relied on a single compute provider. Today, a diversified ecosystem allows the company to plan and deploy capacity with confidence.
OpenAI partnered with Nvidia to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of systems. However, Nvidia later told investors there is “no assurance” that this agreement will move beyond the announcement stage.
Friar added that disciplined management of workflow automation AI is crucial, as growth does not follow a straight line.
Practical AI Adoption Era
ChatGPT has evolved from a research experiment to a daily tool for work and personal tasks with users now relying on AI agent workflows to plan trips, write content, or analyze data.
“What began as a tool for curiosity became infrastructure that helps people create more, decide faster, and operate at a higher level,” Friar said.
OpenAI’s business model has scaled alongside usage. Subscriptions, usage-based APIs, and testing ads in the US reflect the company’s approach. OpenAI is actively building autonomous AI agents that take care of repetitive workflows and complex tasks.
This allows professionals to focus on higher-level work.
AI Practical adoption also involves the autonomous AI and autonomous agents market, where intelligent systems deliver measurable outcomes for enterprises and research institutions, as well as AI workflow automation time-to-resolution reduction.
OpenAI’s developing autonomous agentic AI to operate continuously across its tools and platforms to deliver persistent results.
Moreover, enterprises may benefit from AI chatbot implementation process for small businesses, helping them integrate AI into daily operations without heavy technical resources.
“Infrastructure expands what we can deliver. Innovation expands what intelligence can do. Adoption expands who can use it. Revenue funds the next leap,” Friar ended.
At the end of the day, OpenAI continues to refine AI agent workflows, connecting compute, research, and real-world usage to create a cycle of adoption and innovation.
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