OpenAI Frontier Costs 6 Figures and Needs Engineers. Here's What SMBs Can Do Instead.

OpenAI just launched Frontier, their enterprise platform for building and managing AI agents. The tech press is calling it a potential "SaaS killer." Enterprises are scrambling to get on the waitlist.

And people keep asking us: "Is this the end for smaller AI employee platforms?"

No. Here's why.

Frontier Is Building Infrastructure. We're Hiring Out Workers.

The fundamental difference isn't features or pricing. It's philosophy.

OpenAI Frontier gives enterprises a platform to build their own AI agents. You get tools, frameworks, and governance systems. Then you hire engineers, design architectures, and deploy custom solutions. It's powerful — if you have the resources to use it.

Geta.Team gives you AI employees that are ready to work. You don't build anything. You onboard them like you'd onboard a new hire. Tell them what you need, and they start doing it.

This is the difference between buying lumber and power tools versus hiring a carpenter.

Both are valid approaches. But they serve completely different needs.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Frontier requires what OpenAI calls "Forward Deployed Engineers" — their people embedded with your team to design and implement your agent infrastructure. That's not a criticism; it's the reality of enterprise software.

Geta.Team requires you to describe what you need done. That's it.

Data Privacy: A Tale of Two Approaches

Here's where it gets interesting.

Frontier is cloud-first. Your data flows through OpenAI's infrastructure. For many enterprises, that's fine — they have legal teams and compliance frameworks to handle it.

Geta.Team is self-hosted by default. Your AI employee runs on your infrastructure. Your data never leaves your server. You control everything.

For SMBs handling sensitive client data — accountants, lawyers, healthcare providers, consultants — this isn't a nice-to-have. It's a requirement.

The Real Question: What Are You Actually Trying to Do?

If you're a Fortune 500 company with a dedicated AI team, a seven-figure budget, and the goal of building proprietary agent infrastructure across your entire organization — Frontier is probably right for you. That's exactly what it's designed for.

If you're a business owner who woke up this morning thinking "I need someone to handle my marketing" or "I need help with customer support" — you don't need an agent platform. You need an agent.

The CEO of a 20-person company doesn't need the ability to build custom AI architectures. They need someone to answer emails, schedule posts, and follow up with leads.

That's not a limitation. That's focus.

Why Frontier's Launch Is Actually Good News

Here's the counterintuitive take: OpenAI launching Frontier validates everything we've been building.

When the biggest name in AI starts talking about "AI coworkers" and "agents that do real work," it normalizes the concept. Enterprise CIOs reading about Frontier today will explain AI employees to their SMB-owner friends tomorrow.

The pie is getting bigger. OpenAI is taking their slice from the enterprise market. We're focused on everyone else.

The Bottom Line

OpenAI Frontier is the AWS of AI agents — infrastructure for companies that want to build.

Geta.Team is the "hire a capable remote worker" of AI agents — ready-made employees for companies that want to get things done.

Different tools. Different markets. Different problems solved.

If you're still wondering which one is right for you, ask yourself this: Do you want to build an AI agent, or do you want to hire one?

We know our answer. And based on the thousands of businesses already using our AI employees, we're pretty confident about theirs too.

Ready to hire your first AI employee? Visit Geta.Team and get started in 5 minutes. No engineers required.