Rakuten recently hosted a two-day intensive training workshop at its Tokyo headquarters in collaboration with OpenAI to upskill employees on the use of Codex, an agentic AI platform designed for workflow automation. The event aimed to provide hands-on guidance for both engineers and non-engineers, enabling staff to integrate AI agents into their real-world professional tasks rather than treating the technology as a standalone tool.

The first day featured demonstrations and building sessions where participants created agents for tasks ranging from app development to data analytics. Engineers focused on managing autonomous workflows, while non-engineers explored how to build software by clearly defining desired outcomes. A central component of the second day was the Clinic, which provided teams with 15-minute, one-on-one sessions to discuss specific implementation challenges and goals. Due to high demand, an additional Office Hours block was added, ensuring all attendees had direct access to the OpenAI team for troubleshooting and configuration support.

According to Derek Feriancek, a Codex Deployed Engineer at OpenAI, the workshop prioritized making employees move faster and work more efficiently in a responsible manner. Kaji Yusuke, General Manager of AI for Business at Rakuten, noted that the training supports the company’s AI-nization mission by shifting technical focus toward autonomous AI management. Rakuten intends for such collaborative training sessions to scale AI adoption across the organization by lowering the barrier to entry, allowing teams to apply the technology to their specific daily workflows through direct expert engagement.

Rakuten recently hosted a two-day intensive training workshop at its Tokyo headquarters in collaboration with OpenAI to upskill employees on the use of Codex, an agentic AI platform designed for workflow automation. The event aimed to provide hands-on guidance for both engineers and non-engineers, enabling staff to integrate AI agents into their real-world professional tasks rather than treating the technology as a standalone tool.

The first day featured demonstrations and building sessions where participants created agents for tasks ranging from app development to data analytics. Engineers focused on managing autonomous workflows, while non-engineers explored how to build software by clearly defining desired outcomes. A central component of the second day was the Clinic, which provided teams with 15-minute, one-on-one sessions to discuss specific implementation challenges and goals. Due to high demand, an additional Office Hours block was added, ensuring all attendees had direct access to the OpenAI team for troubleshooting and configuration support.

According to Derek Feriancek, a Codex Deployed Engineer at OpenAI, the workshop prioritized making employees move faster and work more efficiently in a responsible manner. Kaji Yusuke, General Manager of AI for Business at Rakuten, noted that the training supports the company’s AI-nization mission by shifting technical focus toward autonomous AI management. Rakuten intends for such collaborative training sessions to scale AI adoption across the organization by lowering the barrier to entry, allowing teams to apply the technology to their specific daily workflows through direct expert engagement.