OpenAI to launch AI-powered hiring platform like LinkedIn in 2026

OpenAI is preparing to launch an AI-powered hiring platform that will directly challenge LinkedIn, expanding its ambitions well beyond its flagship ChatGPT service.

The new product, called the OpenAI Jobs Platform, is scheduled to debut by mid-2026, a spokesperson told TechCrunch. The company says it will use artificial intelligence to match businesses with workers, in what would be a bold move into the $150 billion global recruitment market.

Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s chief executive of applications, announced the project in a blog post on Thursday. She said the platform would “help find the perfect matches between what companies need and what workers can offer,” and promised a dedicated track for small businesses and local governments to access AI talent.

The new platform brings OpenAI into direct competition with LinkedIn, the professional network co-founded by Reid Hoffman, one of OpenAI’s earliest investors, and now owned by Microsoft. That creates a delicate dynamic: Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest financial backer, having invested billions into the company.

LinkedIn has been quick to add AI features of its own. Over the past year, the platform has introduced tools to help businesses sift candidates and to advise jobseekers on applications. Analysts say OpenAI’s entry could force LinkedIn to accelerate its product roadmap or rethink how it integrates Microsoft’s AI systems.

The hiring service is not the only consumer application OpenAI has in development. At a dinner with reporters earlier this year, chief executive Sam Altman said Simo would oversee a suite of products beyond ChatGPT, including the jobs platform, a potential browser, and even a social media application.

OpenAI also plans to extend its OpenAI Academy training arm, launched last year, with a certification scheme designed to assess “AI fluency.” A pilot of the certification programme will begin in late 2025, with a goal of certifying 10 million Americans by 2030. The company says Walmart, one of the world’s largest employers, is an early partner.

Jobs disruption debate

The launch comes amid growing unease about the impact of generative AI on employment. Dario Amodei, chief executive of rival Anthropic, has warned AI could displace up to half of entry-level white-collar roles before 2030.

Simo acknowledged that risk. “We cannot prevent disruption,” she wrote, “but we can do our part by helping people become fluent in AI and connecting them with companies that need their skills.”

The jobs platform and certification push are being pitched as part of OpenAI’s contribution to a White House initiative to expand AI literacy. Altman and other technology leaders are due to meet President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday to discuss the issue.

By creating a platform that matches employers and workers directly, OpenAI is stepping into territory dominated by LinkedIn and a host of job boards. Success would give the company not only a new revenue stream but also direct access to labour market data, a potentially powerful advantage in training future AI models.