ChatGPT now lets businesses claim a profile and deploy AI agents for customers

OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on 10 November, giving companies a way to claim a profile, keep their information current, and connect with the 1.2 billion people who use ChatGPT each week. Eligible US businesses can also deploy a Business Agent, an AI that completes a task with several steps for you, not just one answer, to handle customer questions directly inside the chat interface.

What happened

OpenAI introduced two connected products under the Businesses in ChatGPT umbrella.

Business Hub is the management dashboard where a company can:

• Claim and verify its organisation in ChatGPT
• Update key details and add product feeds with pricing and availability
• See aggregated insights: number of mentions, website clicks, and common topics where the business is cited

Business Agents are the second piece. Once a business appears in a ChatGPT response, users can click through to its profile and, if a Business Agent is available, start a separate conversation with it. That conversation is clearly labelled and kept distinct from the user's main ChatGPT chat. A customer comparing products could, for example, ask the Business Agent which features best fit their needs, and the agent would answer using that business's own information.

Businesses can also sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements are labelled separately from ChatGPT's own responses.

The Decoder compares the feature to Google My Business, which lets companies manage how they appear in Search and Maps. The difference is that ChatGPT places business profiles inside a conversational AI interface rather than a search results page.

Shopify merchants get a shortcut: they can connect their store from Business Hub or directly from the Shopify admin, and eligible products are already integrated through Shopify Catalog. Existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can work with their OpenAI representative to claim their business.

Business Agents are currently available only to eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the United States. OpenAI has said it plans to expand to more markets and business categories over time but has not announced dates.

On privacy: OpenAI says it does not share users' conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses. Insights in Business Hub are aggregated and only appear when enough interactions meet certain thresholds.

What it means for your work

• If you run or market a business, ChatGPT is now a discovery channel alongside Google and social media, and your information there may already be incomplete or out of date.
• Competitors who claim their profile first will have more accurate listings and, if eligible, a Business Agent answering questions on their behalf.
• The aggregated mention and click data in Business Hub gives marketers a new signal about how AI is representing their brand.
• Sponsored Business Agent placements mean ChatGPT Ads can now lead directly into a branded conversation, not just a website click.

What to do now

1. Go to Business Hub (linked from the OpenAI announcement) and search for your business to see whether it already has a listing.
2. If eligible, start the claim and verification process to take control of your information.
3. Add a product feed with current pricing and availability once verified, so ChatGPT shows accurate details.
4. If you are a Shopify merchant, connect your store through Business Hub or your Shopify admin to speed up verification.
5. Check the insights tab after a few weeks to see how often ChatGPT mentions your business and what topics it links you to.
6. If you are in the US and run an e-commerce or online service business, check whether you are eligible to build a Business Agent. OpenAI has not published a full eligibility list in the announcement, so contact your OpenAI representative or check the eligibility page linked from Business Hub.

Claiming your profile costs nothing to start, but pricing for Business Agents and sponsored placements has not been announced by OpenAI.