SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO - OpenAI and Village Media today announced a partnership to make trusted local information and community resources easier to find. OpenAI recognizes the importance of Village Media’s ambition to impact and strengthen communities. Village Media will develop AI-powered tools that help people stay informed, connect with their communities, and find the local businesses, nonprofits and essential services they need.
The first community tool being developed through the partnership is Open Door, an AI-powered community health and care navigator built on comprehensive local information. Built and operated by Village Media’s Cares team with support from OpenAI, residents can privately and anonymously describe what they need in everyday language, such as emergency food assistance, healthcare, housing or a safe place to stay, and the tool will direct them to relevant local organizations.
Launching initially in Sault Ste. Marie, Open Door will draw from a curated directory of more than 200 community organizations across 24 categories of support. It will provide practical information including hours, contact details, eligibility requirements, intake steps and directions, giving residents a clearer starting point and helping them reach the right support more quickly.
“Local news organizations play an essential role in keeping communities informed and connected, and we believe they are worth investing in,” said Varun Shetty of OpenAI. “AI can help them run their operations and businesses more effectively and build useful new products like Open Door, which helps people find local services such as food, housing, healthcare, and safety support. It gives residents practical information when they need it most. We’re excited by this partnership, which will help make it easier for people using ChatGPT and Search to find reliable, local, fact-based local information.”
Village Media developed Open Door through its Cares division, which leads community-support initiatives across its local markets. The tool combines Village Media’s knowledge of the community with conversational AI to make information about available support easier to access and understand. While OpenAI provides technology and support, Village Media remains fully responsible for all editorial decisions.
“Local journalism can and should be about more than reporting the news, it is about helping communities understand themselves and connecting people with the information they need,” said Jeff Elgie, CEO of Village Media. “Open Door builds on that mission. By combining our local knowledge and relationships with OpenAI’s technology, we can help residents navigate community services in a way that is simple, compassionate and practical.”
Unlike a traditional resource directory, Open Door allows residents to describe their circumstances in everyday language and receive a personalized, step-by-step plan explaining which services may help, how they work together and what to expect at each stage. In healthcare, this could help people access appropriate care more quickly, whether or not they have a family doctor, by directing non-emergency needs to resources such as pharmacists, walk-in clinics and community programs. The pilot will also help Village Media and participating organizations understand how residents seek assistance, identify gaps in available information and improve connections between people and services. Open Door will be available online and on mobile devices, with the potential to expand access through libraries, shelters, hospitals, community centres and food banks. User privacy is paramount. Open Door medical and care queries will not be associated to an account or any other form of identity tracking.
“Sault Ste. Marie is proud to be the first community to pilot Open Door,” said Mayor Matthew Shoemaker. “We have many organizations doing vital work, but people do not always know where to begin when they need help. Making those resources easier to find will have a meaningful impact for our residents and strengthen the connections among the organizations serving our community.”
For people seeking support, the challenge is often not whether a service exists, but knowing where to find it, whether they qualify and how to take the next step. Village Media and OpenAI plan to use feedback from residents and participating community organizations to improve the experience and evaluate opportunities to bring it to additional communities.
“We believe that Village Media’s mission to empower the communities it serves creates both the opportunity and the responsibility to thoughtfully execute that mission in an AI-enabled world,” said Richard Gingras, the chair of Village Media’s board. “We value OpenAI’s acknowledgement and support of our mission and our work.”
About Village Media
Village Media is a Canadian community impact organization and digital local-news network. Through its local journalism, technology and community programs, Village Media works to inform, connect, support and empower the communities it serves. Its Cares division oversees initiatives including Community Builder Awards, Random Acts of Kindness, GoodWorks grants and other community-support programs. Learn more at villagemedia.ca.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. We build safe and useful AI systems that empower people to solve problems, learn, create and pursue new opportunities. Through products including ChatGPT and partnerships with organizations around the world, we are working to make the benefits of AI broadly accessible and to support practical applications that improve people’s lives and strengthen their communities. Learn more at openai.com.
Media Contacts
Jeff Elgie, Village Media
jeff@villagemedia.ca
Nate Evans, OpenAI
nevans@openai.com