OpenAI launches ChatGPT business profiles with brand insights and AI agents

OpenAI has introduced "Businesses in ChatGPT" in beta, giving brands a new way to manage how they appear on the platform, track customer engagement and connect with consumers through AI-powered conversations.

The launch introduces Business Hub, which allows businesses to claim their profiles, update company information and access insights into how users discover and engage with them on ChatGPT. It also includes Business Agents, which enable eligible businesses to interact directly with potential customers.

According to OpenAI, the initiative aims to help businesses connect with ChatGPT's 1.2 billion weekly users as they explore products, compare options and make purchasing decisions.

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Through Business Hub, eligible companies can claim and verify their business profiles before updating key details and providing product feeds containing pricing and availability information. The move is aimed at ensuring consumers receive accurate and up-to-date information when exploring products and services through ChatGPT.

Businesses operating in markets where ChatGPT is available can claim their profiles, while existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can work directly with their OpenAI representatives. Shopify merchants can also connect their stores through Business Hub or the Shopify admin to simplify verification.

Beyond managing their information, businesses will gain access to aggregated insights into their visibility and engagement on ChatGPT. These include the number of times a business is mentioned, website clicks and discovery topics, which highlight common themes across conversations where a company's website is cited.

The insights could provide marketers with another way to assess brand visibility as consumers increasingly turn to AI platforms for product discovery and recommendations.

OpenAI said the data is designed to protect user privacy, with insights only made available when sufficient conversations or interactions meet certain thresholds. Individual user conversations and Business Agent chats will not be shared with businesses.

Meanwhile, Business Agents will allow eligible companies to build, test and launch AI-powered assistants that answer customer questions and help users explore their products and services.

When a business appears in a ChatGPT response, users can select its profile and, where available, start a separate conversation with its Business Agent. For example, customers comparing products can ask about differences in features or which options best suit their needs. The conversations will be clearly labelled and kept separate from ChatGPT's independent responses.

Businesses will also be able to sponsor their Business Agents and use them as destinations for ChatGPT Ads, creating another avenue for brands to engage potential customers through paid placements. Sponsored experiences will be labelled and distinguished from organic ChatGPT responses.

At launch, Business Agents are available to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the US, with OpenAI planning to expand the offering to additional markets and business categories over time. The company said the launch represents an early step towards bringing businesses more deeply into ChatGPT, with plans to develop additional tools for organisations with more complex needs.

The latest rollout follows OpenAI's efforts to make ChatGPT a more interactive platform. Last month, the company introduced GPT-6 with "Intelligent UI", a capability that allows ChatGPT to generate visual interfaces, tools and interactive experiences directly within conversations, moving beyond conventional text-based responses.

The feature allows ChatGPT to present information through graphics, tappable buttons, forms, charts and other interactive elements depending on the user's needs.

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