Simply Business is pushing further into AI-enabled distribution with the launch of what it said is the UK's first small-business insurance app in ChatGPT, alongside a US version aimed at micro and SME clients.
The digital broker, which focuses on small businesses and landlords, has built the application to sit natively inside OpenAI's ChatGPT App Directory, positioning insurance alongside productivity, finance and other day-to-day tools already used by entrepreneurs.
OpenAI formally opened up its in‑chat App Directory to third‑party developers in December 2025, turning ChatGPT into a discovery and distribution platform for apps that can be launched and used directly within a conversation.
Simply Business said the new application safely connects ChatGPT to its pricing engine, with a focus on security, privacy and reliability.
Small business owners in the UK can receive an indicative premium after supplying just four pieces of information – trade, annual turnover, years in business and UK postcode – before being directed to the Simply Business website to complete the full quote and purchase journey.
A US version of the app has been launched in parallel. In both markets, the ChatGPT interaction acts as a front door to the broker’s existing online marketplace, where SMEs can compare and buy cover from a panel of insurers.
The Simply Business app is available in ChatGPT’s App Directory and may appear as a recommendation when users ask questions related to business risk and insurance, reflecting OpenAI’s approach of surfacing relevant apps directly in response to user prompts.
The move forms part of Simply Business’s broader global technology strategy to deploy artificial intelligence across the small‑commercial insurance journey.
In October 2025, the broker introduced a hyper‑personalised AI‑powered advisor in the US, using a retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) model to provide tailored guidance for SME customers and help them navigate cover options more intuitively.
Industry observers saw such deployments as part of a wider shift in commercial lines, where carriers and intermediaries are using generative AI to automate elements of underwriting, triage and customer service in smaller-ticket business. McKinsey has noted that commercial insurers are already using GenAI to support “algorithmic underwriting” and augment underwriter capacity, particularly in small commercial and mid‑market segments.
David Summers, group CEO at Simply Business, said: “In 2005, we set out to change the way small businesses purchase insurance. More than two decades later, we have over one million customers worldwide and we are continuing to evolve our capabilities to simplify the way they research and buy insurance.
"Launching this insurance app in the UK and the US for small businesses in ChatGPT is our latest step in meeting our customers where they are and making the insurance-buying process an easier, better and fairer experience for them.”
Dana Edwards, group CTO at Simply Business, added: “Small business owners are already using platforms like ChatGPT to research, plan and make decisions. By safely bringing insurance pricing into that environment, we’re removing one more barrier between them and the coverage they need. We designed the app with the safeguards that customers have come to expect – this kind of rapid, responsible innovation is precisely what our global technology platform is built for.”
The launch comes against a backdrop of rapid adoption of generative AI across the sector. A global study by SAS and Coleman Parkes found that around nine in 10 insurers planned to invest in GenAI within a year of the survey, with early use cases clustered in marketing, distribution and customer service.
Bain & Company has estimated that applying generative AI in insurance distribution alone could represent a more than US$50 billion annual economic opportunity, with potential revenue uplifts of up to 20% and cost reductions of up to 15% for carriers and intermediaries that scale the technology effectively.
In Europe, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) reported in February 2026 that nearly two‑thirds of undertakings surveyed are already using generative AI, although most are still at a proof‑of‑concept stage – indicating both strong momentum and a cautious, controlled rollout focused on governance and risk management.
As more brokers, MGAs and carriers experiment with in‑app journeys, insurance professionals can expect increasing scrutiny from boards and regulators alike on how far core decision‑making is delegated into conversational AI platforms, and what safeguards are in place when those platforms become a primary gateway for SME insurance distribution.
