OpenAI introduces the OpenAI Economic Research Exchange, an initiative designed so you — the academic and research community — can produce rigorous empirical evidence about how artificial intelligence is transforming work, businesses, and the economy at large.
This is about building credible, independent results you can trust, not anecdotes or hot takes. The Exchange aims to fund and structure research that answers concrete questions about jobs, productivity, education, and inequality using real-world data under privacy safeguards.
What is the Exchange
It’s a structured collaboration platform between OpenAI Economic Research and selected external researchers. Think of it as a joint lab with clear stages, data governance, and review processes so results are reliable and reproducible.
Why does that matter? Because understanding AI’s economic impact needs real data and solid methods, not just intuition. The Exchange gives you access to OpenAI tools and datasets under privacy protections so you can test specific hypotheses about industries, firms, and labor markets.
What kind of projects are they looking for
OpenAI wants proposals that tackle relevant questions about AI’s economic effects. They’re looking for empirically focused research with strengths in applied causal inference, measurement, labor economics, productivity, firms, education, entrepreneurship, public finance, regional economics, development, or inequality.
Proposals should explain how carefully governed, privacy-preserving use of OpenAI tools will help answer those questions, and show feasibility with defined milestones and review frameworks.
How it will work and what safeguards exist
Selected projects will have limited scope, clear milestones, data governance, and review processes to protect privacy and ensure responsible use. This isn’t about opening data without control; it’s research with safeguards.
The Exchange complements other OpenAI efforts to measure AI’s economic effects, like OpenAI Signals, and aims to widen the evidence base available to researchers, policymakers, companies, and the public.
Evaluation and criteria
The proposals will be evaluated according to:
Methodological rigor.
Practical feasibility.
Fit with the Exchange’s priorities.
Clear and realistic milestones.
Potential to provide credible external evidence on the economic impacts of AI.
Dates and how to apply
If you want to participate, there are two key dates: applications are open now and close on July 5, 2026. OpenAI will review proposals and notify selected teams on July 31, 2026.
For more information and details on the application process, review the call for proposals or write to econresearch@openai.com.
What kind of answers can this bring? Why does it matter to you?
Imagine studies that measure how much productivity rose in a specific industry after adopting AI assistants, or research that quantifies how career paths change for professionals as automation arrives. Those findings can directly inform public policy, business strategy, and educational practice.
What does that mean for you? Better evidence helps design training programs, choose where to invest in automation, and craft policies that protect workers while promoting growth.
Centralizing external research under common governance also helps build trust: better methods, more transparency, and evidence that others can replicate.
AI is already reshaping jobs and business models. Having solid, accessible research is key to making informed decisions and reducing harmful side effects.
