OpenAI announced on 10 November, in a blog post and on X, that it has opened Businesses in ChatGPT, an offering for businesses, in beta. The company said 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week. The Verge reported on the launch based on the blog post and a press briefing.

Claiming a profile in Business Hub

In Business Hub, a business claims the profile that ChatGPT shows for it. Once verified by OpenAI, a business can update its key details and add product feeds, that is, product catalogues with prices and availability. A claimed profile gets a blue check mark.

ChatGPT can use this information in its answers but still makes its own recommendations and comparisons, OpenAI said. Claiming a profile does not guarantee higher placement or sales, the company added.

OpenAI does not give details of how it verifies businesses. Benji Shomair, VP of monetization, explained at the press briefing that different businesses are verified using different methods, The Verge reported.

Business Hub also shows aggregated statistics: the number of mentions and website clicks, and the conversation topics in which the business’s website is referenced. OpenAI says it does not share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses. Statistics appear only once conversations or interactions reach a certain minimum number.

Business Agent answers with the business’s information

Business Agent is an AI agent that answers customers’ questions following the business’s instructions and drawing on its product information and policies. When a business appears in a ChatGPT answer, the user can open its profile and, if the business has an agent, ask it, for example, how two products differ. The conversation is clearly labelled and kept separate from both the user’s original conversation and ChatGPT’s own answers, OpenAI said. ChatGPT can show a business’s information even if the business has no agent.

An image in OpenAI’s X post shows the agent creation tool with fields for a name, instructions, background information about the business and products selected from the product feed.

A business can also sponsor its agent and direct customers to it from ads in ChatGPT. Sponsored placements are clearly labelled and separate from ChatGPT’s answers, the company said.

Who can use it

An eligible business can claim its profile anywhere ChatGPT is available. Initially, however, the business must have a website. Eligibility depends on factors including industry, location and OpenAI’s verification and integrity checks. For now, only eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses can publish a Business Agent. OpenAI plans to expand to other markets and industries.

Businesses can sign up at chatgpt.com/business-hub. Shopify merchants can also connect their store from the Shopify admin, and their eligible products are already in ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog.