OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on November 10, 2026, letting companies claim a profile through a new Business Hub, update their details and see aggregated insights. Eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the US can also publish Business Agents that answer customer questions inside ChatGPT. OpenAI's announcement says: "We’re introducing Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, giving businesses a new way to connect with the 1.2 billion people who use ChatGPT each week."

#What changed?

The beta has two parts: Business Hub for profiles and insights, and Business Agents for customer conversations. OpenAI says that in Business Hub, "companies can claim their organization in ChatGPT and, once verified, update key details and add self-service product feeds with pricing and availability."

According to OpenAI's announcement and its Help Center guide to setting up a business:

  • Profile details. A verified business can update its website, business description, product or service category, logo, delivery policy and return policy. "OpenAI reviews and publishes changes."
  • Product feeds. Sellers can upload a CSV feed, link a hosted feed URL or connect a Shopify feed to share prices and availability. "Connecting a feed doesn’t publish an agent or guarantee that ChatGPT recommends your products."
  • Insights. OpenAI lists mentions, website clicks and discovery topics. "Insights show aggregate activity over the past 28 days, including mentions and website clicks."
  • Privacy. "We don’t share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses", OpenAI says, and insights appear only when activity meets certain thresholds.

TechCrunch's Lucas Ropek also listed profile views among the metrics. OpenAI's own pages do not mention profile views.

#How do Business Agents work?

A Business Agent is a separate, labeled chat built from information the business provides. OpenAI says that after claiming, "eligible organizations can build, test, and launch a Business Agent". It describes the flow: "When a business appears in a model response, people can click to see the business’s ChatGPT profile. If a Business Agent is available, customers can choose to start a conversation with the business to explore its offerings and ask follow-up questions."

OpenAI's example: "someone comparing products could ask about the differences between two options and which features fit their needs." The Verge's Jay Peters reported that businesses can set an agent's instructions and provide business context. The Help Center says a business reviews the agent's information, previews it with a test question, then publishes it. "Customers can only chat with a published agent."

The agents cannot complete purchases, make bookings or check a customer's order. The Help Center says: "The current experience lets your agent explain products and policies and link to your website, where customers complete those actions."

OpenAI says: "The Business Agent conversation is clearly labeled, separate from the customer’s original ChatGPT conversation, and distinct from ChatGPT’s independent answers." Businesses can also sponsor their agent and, in OpenAI's words, "use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads to reach more potential customers." It adds: "Sponsored placements are clearly labeled and separate from ChatGPT responses." The Help Center states: "Advertising doesn’t influence ChatGPT’s independent answers."

#Who can use it and when?

Everything is in beta, and OpenAI published no prices. Its pages set these limits:

  • Claiming a profile. "Any eligible business located where ChatGPT is available can claim their business in ChatGPT through Business Hub." The Help Center says availability depends on location and type, and that "Local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing U.S. listing." OpenAI's Businesses in ChatGPT page says claiming is "initially available to eligible businesses with a website."
  • Business Agents. "Business Agents are now available to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States." The Help Center adds that the business needs a website and must meet the industry requirements in the Business Agents Policy.
  • No ads or Enterprise deal needed. "You don’t need an Ads account or a ChatGPT Enterprise agreement to claim an eligible business."
  • Shopify is optional. Shopify merchants can connect their store from Business Hub or the Shopify admin to speed up verification, but "Eligible businesses can set up a business agent whether or not they use Shopify."

#How do verification and the blue check work?

Verification has two steps: approving the claim, then a Persona identity check. Owners start in Business Hub from the ChatGPT sidebar and verify the claim by phone, business email, a DNS TXT record on the website domain, or Shopify, and "OpenAI reviews your claim and emails you its decision or a request for more information."

Persona identity verification comes next. "You’ll need to complete identity verification with Persona before you can publish changes to your business information, view insights, or create an eligible business agent."

The Help Center is explicit about the badge: "Claiming your business alone doesn’t give its profile a verified badge. The verified badge, shown as a blue check, appears after your Persona verification is approved." OpenAI's landing page words it differently, saying a blue check appears to show a profile has been claimed. We follow the Help Center's more detailed steps.

TechCrunch and The Verge both reported that Benji Shomair, OpenAI's VP of Monetization, did not share verification specifics at a press briefing, citing different methods for different businesses. The Help Center lists the claim methods above.

#How does it compare?

TechCrunch framed the profiles as resembling the business profiles Google and other search engines already offer, and compared the insights to Google Analytics. It also reported that OpenAI previously tried to make ChatGPT a shopping hub with a commission fee system, and that in March the company retired that effort, which had included a “checkout cart” feature.

The ad link builds on ChatGPT Ads, which now runs in 89 countries. Other companies are also building inside ChatGPT, such as Oracle's AI Workspace for its apps in ChatGPT.

Our analysis: OpenAI has split three things businesses may assume are linked: the profile, the agent and ads. The agent explains and links out but cannot sell, a narrower role than the checkout effort TechCrunch says was retired. For eligible US sellers, a sensible first step is to claim and verify the listing, then check that the website, policies and product feed are accurate, because OpenAI says ChatGPT may use this information to answer customer questions.

#What is still unclear?

OpenAI gave no prices for Business Hub or Business Agents and no dates for wider availability. It says: "Over time, we plan to expand Businesses in ChatGPT and Business Agents to more markets and business categories, and build tools for organizations with more complex needs." The eligible agent categories sit in a separate Business Agents Policy not covered here. OpenAI's own pages also disagree on what triggers the blue check, and profile views as a metric rest only on TechCrunch's report.