A new place for businesses in ChatGPT
On November 10, OpenAI introduced Businesses in ChatGPT as a beta. Eligible businesses can claim their profile through Business Hub. Once verified, they can update business details and add product feeds containing prices and availability. OpenAI says eligible businesses can start wherever ChatGPT is available.
OpenAI is also introducing Business Agents. This feature starts with eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States. A verified business profile therefore does not automatically mean a merchant in Germany can publish one today. OpenAI says it plans to expand availability.
Two conversations with different roles
When a business appears in an answer, people can open its profile and choose an available Business Agent, according to OpenAI. The agent can answer questions about that business using information it supplies. OpenAI describes this as a labelled conversation, separate from the original conversation and ChatGPT’s independent answers.
That distinction matters during a purchase. Someone comparing two coffee grinders might use the general assistant to explore options from different sources. In a subsequent conversation with a merchant’s agent, they can ask about that merchant’s specific range. They still need to be able to assess which claims are accurate and which choice serves them.
What merchants can maintain
A profile and a feed give a business another place to provide its own information. Their practical value depends on whether products, variants, prices and availability agree with the shop. For a spare part, a product name alone is not enough: compatible models and relevant limitations need to be clear enough to identify the correct variant.
OpenAI also describes aggregated counts of mentions and website clicks, plus topics in conversations where a website is cited. The company says individual user conversations and Business Agent chats are not shared with businesses, and that insights require minimum interaction thresholds. A mention, a shop visit and an order are different outcomes and deserve separate measurement.
Connecting discovery and advice
In Being found before anyone visits the shop, I describe a suitcase whose dimensions including wheels matter to the choice. The chapter distinguishes whether a product appears, whether it is explained accurately and whether a customer reaches the offer. Business Hub can provide information along that path. OpenAI’s terms do not guarantee a particular placement or sales result.
My earlier article The Discovery Layer Just Moved looked at how a merchant can be selected before checkout. A maintained profile and a subsequent advice conversation sit at different points on that journey. The announcement does not establish that a Business Agent produces better recommendations or more revenue.
What a merchant can prepare now
Start with a few important products: do the name, variant, stock, price and delivery conditions match between the product page and feed? Then collect real questions from sales and support and check whether the published information answers them. The Gartner article describes how teams can compare answers against their sources.
Eligible businesses can review their profile and see which functions are actually available in their country. Before publishing a Business Agent, test it with real questions about compatibility, delivery and returns. The guide to GEO and AI search explains how to check citations and shop visits separately.
Source and further reading
Read the original announcement ↗