ChatGPT Plus for veterans and servicemembers
In the past year, more than 20,000 transitioning servicemembers and veterans have claimed a year of ChatGPT Plus at no cost after being offered free access by OpenAI. As Veterans Day approaches, that milestone gives us a chance to look at how veterans are using AI to prepare for civilian careers and to figure out what comes next for themselves and their families.
The effort started with veterans who work here at OpenAI, people who use these tools every day and know firsthand how challenging the transition can be. Beyond the free access, OpenAI Academy and our community partners have hosted more than a dozen trainings for nearly 1,000 members of the military community, with seven more(opens in a new window) scheduled before the year ends.
Leaving the military often means stepping into an unfamiliar job market and working out how years of service translate into a civilian role. Many veterans are turning to ChatGPT to organize their job search, rehearse for interviews, and explore paths they hadn’t considered.
Air Force veteran Tilak Bhatnagar(opens in a new window) used his free year to prepare for a dozen interviews, find the right words to describe his military experience to civilian employers, and weigh competing job offers. Along the way, those conversations helped him clarify what he actually wanted from life after active duty.
He ultimately took a role at a tech company. What he valued most was being able to pick up where he left off, returning to the same thread about his background, goals, and constraints. As he put it, “each conversation built on the last.”
Sadarian Bell(opens in a new window), also an Air Force veteran, started planning more than a year before he left the service. He used ChatGPT to map out his transition and to turn nearly a decade of military healthcare experience into a civilian résumé.
To prepare for interviews, he practiced out loud using ChatGPT voice mode, working through one question at a time until his answers felt natural. “It has genuinely become my career coach,” Sadarian said, though he also learned to recognize when he’d had enough help and could trust his own judgment.
For Navy veteran Kelli Ramirez(opens in a new window), the transition was a chance to chase a long-held dream: becoming a published author. She’d already invested in a book-writing course to sharpen her craft, and ChatGPT filled in the gaps. “ChatGPT helped me organize ideas, ask questions about publishing, and work through the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing process,” she said.
Kelli has since published two books, which she says “reflect my desire to help women approach technology with confidence and, for those who share my Christian faith, with wisdom grounded in that faith.”
Not everyone arrives confident about using AI tools, which is why OpenAI Academy gives veterans, transitioning servicemembers, and military spouses a place to learn alongside people who understand what they’re going through.
OpenAI recently wrapped our first six-event Academy series with Veterans Forge(opens in a new window), focused on helping veterans and military families use ChatGPT to work toward their goals. That pilot, together with workshops alongside AI Collective Hampton Roads and NPower, is shaping what we offer veterans next.
At one workshop in Reston, Virginia(opens in a new window), nearly 100 veterans and active-duty servicemembers(opens in a new window) explored ways to put AI to work. Participant Ryan Kaono-Wedemeyer(opens in a new window) learned to start by writing out a detailed account of his military experience, then asking AI to help shape it into a civilian résumé.
Instructor Erin Marie(opens in a new window) helped participants build custom GPTs to support their transitions, and watched people who walked in skeptical begin finding ways the tools could genuinely help them.
In Louisville, Kentucky, more than 80 Legionnaires(opens in a new window) attended three AI training sessions at the American Legion’s national convention. For those who can’t make it to an event, our online veterans collection(opens in a new window) and 100 chats for veterans(opens in a new window) offer examples to try on your own.
We’re continuing this work with partners across the country through the rest of the year:
November 12: NPower event in St. Louis(opens in a new window)
November 14: Nashville event with Veterans Forge and Wounded Warrior Project(opens in a new window)
November 17: 30-minute virtual session(opens in a new window)
November 19: NPower event in Dallas(opens in a new window)
November 21: NPower event in San Antonio(opens in a new window)
Our goal is to help veterans and military families carry the skills they built in service into whatever work they choose next. We’re grateful to ID.me(opens in a new window) for helping servicemembers and veterans access the free-year offer, and to our community partners for making these events possible.
This Veterans Day, OpenAI thanks veterans for their service and for contributing to their communities.
