Key Notes
- OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, adding business profiles, product information and aggregated analytics.
- Profile claiming reaches eligible ChatGPT markets, while Business Agents initially serve eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses.
- Agents can be destinations for labeled ChatGPT Ads, but claiming a profile does not guarantee higher placement.
OpenAI is giving businesses their own profiles and customer-facing AI agents inside ChatGPT, expanding the chatbot’s role in how people discover products, compare services and decide where to spend.
The company announced the beta on November 10. It says ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users, an audience retailers and service providers can reach through the new tools.
Business Hub Adds Profiles and Analytics
Through Business Hub, verified companies can update their details and supply product feeds containing prices and availability. The hub also tracks mentions, website clicks and the topics that bring people to a business in ChatGPT.
Those reports are aggregated and appear only when enough interactions meet OpenAI’s privacy thresholds. The company says businesses will not receive users’ conversations or Business Agent chats.
Profile claiming is open to eligible businesses in markets where ChatGPT is available, initially requiring a website.
Business Agents Start With US Online Businesses
Business Agents initially cover eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses. Customers can open an agent from a company’s ChatGPT profile and ask questions about its offerings using information and guidelines the business supplies.
The conversation is labeled as an interaction with the business and kept separate from the customer’s original ChatGPT chat. OpenAI’s agent policy requires the assistant to identify itself as AI representing that business, without posing as an independent adviser or a human.
Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP) merchants can connect through their store administration or Business Hub. OpenAI’s product page says their catalog information can be shared automatically, while businesses without a Shopify store can also apply.
Agents Can Become Advertising Destinations
Companies can sponsor a Business Agent and make it the destination for ChatGPT Ads. OpenAI says sponsored placements will be labeled and separated from its responses.
The launch adds a merchant-facing channel as OpenAI expands its business sales. President Greg Brockman said last week that enterprise customers already account for most of the company’s revenue.
Claiming a profile gives a business a blue checkmark and tools to keep its information current. It does not guarantee higher placement in ChatGPT’s recommendations or more sales, according to OpenAI.
