OpenAI Turns ChatGPT Into a Business Directory With Profiles and AI Agents

What happened

Reuters reported on Nov 11 that OpenAI announced Businesses in ChatGPT on Nov 10. Through Business Hub, companies claim their profile and, once verified, can update their website, description, logo, delivery and return policies, and upload product feeds with pricing and availability; claimed profiles show a blue check.

The second feature is Business Agents: when a company appears in a ChatGPT answer, users can open its profile and chat with an agent built from the information the company supplies, asking about products and services. Agents are initially for eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses; companies can sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT ads, with sponsored placements labeled.

OpenAI says businesses see only aggregated data, the number of mentions and website clicks, and do not receive users' conversations or Business Agent chats; figures appear only above minimum thresholds. Claiming a profile and publishing an agent is free at launch, and Benji Shomair, OpenAI's vice president of monetization, left open the possibility of charging later. OpenAI says 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT every week.

Key facts

1. Business Hub: Companies claim and verify profiles, update website, description, logo, delivery and return policies, and upload product feeds with pricing and availability; claimed profiles show a blue check
2. Business Agents: Eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses can publish them; they answer customer questions inside ChatGPT on the business's behalf; companies can sponsor them as destinations for ChatGPT ads, with sponsorship labeled
3. Data shown: Businesses see only aggregated data: mentions and website clicks; no access to user conversations or agent chats; figures appear only above minimum thresholds
4. Pricing: Claiming a profile and publishing an agent is free at launch; Benji Shomair, OpenAI's vice president of monetization, left open the possibility of charging later
5. Availability: Profile claiming is open to businesses wherever ChatGPT is available; agents are initially limited to eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses
6. User base: OpenAI says 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT every week, by the company's own count