Business Hub lets eligible companies manage profiles and view engagement insights globally, while Business Agents initially serve eligible US businesses, offering customers separate conversations about products and services within ChatGPT during the new beta rollout.
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OpenAI has introduced Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, allowing eligible companies to manage their business information, track engagement and offer dedicated agents that answer customer questions about their products and services.
The launch combines Business Hub, available to eligible businesses wherever ChatGPT operates, with Business Agents, initially limited to eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the United States. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT has 1.2 billion weekly users.
The initiative gives businesses a more direct role in supplying information as people use ChatGPT to research products, compare services and make purchasing decisions.
Business Hub enables profile and product updates
Through Business Hub, companies can claim their organisation and, after verification, update key details and add self-service product feeds containing pricing and availability information. OpenAI said these updates are intended to help users access current business and product details.
Existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can work with their OpenAI representative to claim their business. Shopify merchants can connect their stores through Business Hub or the Shopify admin to simplify verification. Eligible Shopify products are already integrated into ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog.
Business Hub also provides aggregated insights, including how often a business is mentioned and the number of clicks through to its website. Companies can review discovery topics, which identify common themes across conversations in which their website is cited.
OpenAI said businesses will not receive users’ conversations or Business Agent chats. Insights will be available only when sufficient conversations or interactions meet specified thresholds.
Business Agents offer separate customer conversations
After claiming their business, eligible organisations can build, test and launch a Business Agent to answer questions and help customers explore their offerings.
When a business appears in a ChatGPT response, users can open its profile and, where an agent is available, choose to start a separate conversation. Customers could, for example, ask about differences between products or which features suit their requirements, with the agent drawing on information supplied by the business.
OpenAI said these conversations are clearly labelled and remain separate from the user’s original conversation and ChatGPT’s independent answers.
Businesses can also sponsor their Business Agent and make it the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements will be clearly labelled and displayed separately from ChatGPT responses.
Business Agents are currently available only to eligible U.S.-based e-commerce and online service businesses during the beta.
Expansion planned across markets and categories
OpenAI plans to extend Businesses in ChatGPT and Business Agents to additional markets and business categories over time. It also intends to develop tools for organisations with more complex requirements.
The company described the launch as an initial step focused on maintaining accurate business information, providing engagement insights and supporting conversations that help users assess products and services.
“Our goal is to make ChatGPT more useful for people making decisions, and give businesses new ways to participate and grow,” OpenAI said in its announcement.
