OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on Nov. 10, adding a Business Hub where companies manage how they appear in ChatGPT and Business Agents that people can talk to, according to OpenAI's announcement. OpenAI says 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week.
What changed
The Business Hub lets a business claim its business in ChatGPT. Once verified, it can update key details and add self-service product feeds with pricing and availability. Any eligible business in a place where ChatGPT is available can claim a business. Existing Enterprise customers and advertisers can work directly with their OpenAI representative to claim theirs.
Shopify merchants can connect from Business Hub or from Shopify admin. OpenAI says eligible Shopify products are already in ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog.
What it means for shoppers
When a business appears in a ChatGPT response, you can click through to its ChatGPT profile. If that business has built a Business Agent, you can start a conversation with it there.
OpenAI says that conversation is clearly labeled, separate from your original chat and distinct from ChatGPT's own independent answers. For shoppers, the practical point is to check which voice you are reading: ChatGPT's answer or a business's agent.
What it means for businesses
Eligible organizations can build, test and launch a Business Agent. The Hub also shows aggregated insights: mentions, website clicks and discovery topics. OpenAI says it does not share users' conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses, and that insights appear only above thresholds.
Businesses can also sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. OpenAI says sponsored placements are labeled and separate from responses. For how ads are rolling out, see our story on ChatGPT Ads expanding to 26 new countries.
Who can use it now
Business Agents are available now to eligible ecommerce and online-service businesses in the U.S. OpenAI plans to expand to more markets and categories. Other ChatGPT changes are covered in ChatGPT work modes in the Chrome extension, and more AI news is in AI apps.
What is not known
The OpenAI text we read does not state prices for Business Agents or sponsorship, the eligibility criteria, or a date for other countries and categories. It also does not say how many businesses have signed up. We did not test the Hub or an agent.
What we checked
We read OpenAI's announcement on Nov. 10 and took every claim above from it. We did not test the Business Hub or a Business Agent.
