ChatGPT Now Lets Businesses Claim a Profile and Create a Business Agent
OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on November 10, letting companies claim a verified profile on a chatbot that 1.2 billion people use each week. Owners can edit their details, add product feeds and see how often ChatGPT mentions them. Eligible US online retailers can also create an AI agent that answers shoppers.
OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on November 10, 2026.
Business Hub lets owners claim, verify and update their listing in ChatGPT.
Claimed profiles get a blue check, but claiming does not guarantee higher placement.
Business Agents are open to eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses.
Shopify merchants can connect their stores from Business Hub or the Shopify admin.
What did OpenAI launch on November 10?
OpenAI is building a business directory inside ChatGPT that owners can claim and manage themselves. Businesses in ChatGPT launched in beta on November 10, and its centerpiece is a dashboard called Business Hub.
Any eligible business with a website, located in a region where ChatGPT is available, can claim its organization in Business Hub. After claiming and verification, the owner can edit key details like contact information, business hours and website. Retailers can add product feeds with pricing and availability.
A claimed profile is marked with a blue check. When a business comes up in a ChatGPT answer, people can tap through to its profile, much like the listing box that appears beside a search result.
The Business Hub dashboard also shows how people engage with a business on ChatGPT. It counts mentions and clicks to the business website. It also groups the conversations that cite a business website into discovery topics, so a toy store might see gifts for kids or affordable creative activities.
OpenAI says it aggregates this data and only displays insights when enough conversations reach certain thresholds. The company also says it does not give businesses users' conversations or chats with their agent.
Larger customers get a shortcut. Current OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can claim a profile by working with their OpenAI representative. Shopify merchants can connect a store from Business Hub or the Shopify admin, and eligible Shopify products already appear in ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog.
How does a Business Agent talk to customers?
The second feature is a Business Agent, an AI agent that acts on behalf of a business. Once they claim a profile, eligible businesses can create, test and launch a Business Agent that answers questions using the product and policy details they provide.
When a business shows up in a ChatGPT response, a user can open its profile and chat with the agent. A shopper could, for example, ask about the differences between two products and which one suits their needs. OpenAI says the agent chat is labeled, appears separately from the user's own chat and stays apart from ChatGPT's independent responses.
Business Agents come with strict rules on disclosure. In its Business Agents Policy, updated on the day of the launch, OpenAI says:
"An agent must be clear that it is AI representing the business; do not make it appear to be an independent adviser, a human, or endorsed by OpenAI."
For now, Business Agents are limited to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States. OpenAI says it plans to bring listings and agents to more markets and business categories over time.
Business Agents also tie into advertising. Businesses can sponsor their agent and use it as the landing spot for ChatGPT Ads, with sponsored placements labeled and kept apart from ChatGPT's responses. OpenAI first tested these Sponsored Agents in September, when it also named its first CRM partner, HubSpot, and its first ecommerce partner, Shopify.
Claiming a profile does not buy better placement
OpenAI says ChatGPT will keep making its own recommendations, whether or not a business claims its profile. A business can still show up in a ChatGPT answer without an agent when it is relevant to a user's question.
This caveat is spelled out in OpenAI's FAQ for business owners:
"Claiming does not guarantee higher placement or sales."
That line matters for small businesses deciding how much time to spend on yet another listing. The main benefit of claiming is control over the information ChatGPT sees, such as hours, pricing and inventory. Businesses can also buy visibility through ads that lead customers to a sponsored agent.
Eligibility is not automatic either. According to OpenAI, it depends on the industry and location of the business and on OpenAI's own verification and integrity checks. Only the owner or an authorized representative can manage a profile.
Websites have been locking AI agents out
OpenAI's move reverses a battle that has been brewing across the web. A Sparknify report in October found that Yelp lets in only AI agents that pay for its data licensing program, and that Amazon has put up roadblocks for outside agents.
Those platforms are setting the rules for whether an AI chatbot may operate inside their stores. OpenAI asks businesses the opposite question: do they want to send their own agent into the chatbot? The business writes the agent's instructions, gives it the information it needs and controls when it goes live.
That lets smaller businesses get into the game without waiting for marketplaces to set the terms. It also puts more of their customer conversations on a platform that OpenAI controls.
Why does this matter for Silicon Valley?
Business listings have long been a quiet but valuable part of search. Google Business Profile lets owners verify their businesses and keep their information current, and Businesses in ChatGPT now does something similar inside an AI assistant.
For startups, this means one more storefront to manage. A Shopify brand that sells direct to consumers can now add its products to ChatGPT and run an agent there, alongside its own website and marketplace listings.
For OpenAI, the product connects three businesses: listings, agents and ads. The more owners keep their information current in Business Hub, the more useful ChatGPT becomes for shopping questions, and the more reason advertisers have to pay for sponsored agents.
Will ChatGPT become the place every business must show up?
The next few years will show whether AI assistants like ChatGPT replace search pages as the first place shoppers look before they buy. OpenAI says it intends to expand Businesses in ChatGPT and Business Agents into new markets and categories, and to build tools for organizations with more complex needs. If consumers keep turning to chatbots instead of search, a verified ChatGPT profile could become as common for a corner store as a map listing is today.
For small businesses, the opportunity is real. A toy store, a bakery that takes online orders or a software subscription service can make sure its information is correct instead of hoping the model gets it right. Mentions and discovery topics could also show which products people ask about most, something that was hard for a small business to see before.
There are concerns too. Every new listing is another profile to manage, and claiming one does not guarantee a ranking. A business that relies on an agent gives up some control of the customer relationship to a platform whose rules, fees and placement it does not set. Users will also have to trust that the labels separating sponsored agents from regular ChatGPT answers hold up.
Critics will point to that line between ads and answers. If the same assistant that recommends businesses also sells ad space to them, it is hard for users to tell whether the recommendations are independent. Supporters reply that OpenAI labels sponsored agents, does not share user chats with businesses and still lets ChatGPT make its own recommendations.
Five things will show which way this goes:
When Business Agents open to businesses outside the United States in 2027.
Whether OpenAI adds categories such as restaurants or local services to Business Agents.
How many Shopify merchants switch on agents in the first months of the beta.
Any rule changes on how sponsored agents are labeled inside ChatGPT answers.
How Google responds with AI features for Google Business Profile listings.
The yellow pages are moving into the chatbot, and every business now has to decide whether to claim its page.
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Questions & Answers
Q1: With sponsored Business Agents on ChatGPT, will the banner ads small businesses buy today become a thing of the past?
Not yet. OpenAI lets businesses sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the landing spot for ChatGPT Ads, with clear labels that keep paid placements apart from regular answers. That fits the case that AI will erase the banner ad within five years, as more people search and shop through AI.
Q2: I own a toy store in Palo Alto with a website. Should I claim my business on ChatGPT, and how else can I reach customers in my area?
Any eligible business with a website can claim its profile, but Business Agents are only open to eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses, and claiming does not guarantee placement. To get people talking about a store, owners can also build campaigns into live events and programs at sparknify.com/advertising.
Q3: As a founder selling on Shopify, how do I get noticed now that OpenAI and Google both run business listings for AI answers?
Shopify merchants can connect their stores in Business Hub or the Shopify admin, and eligible products already surface in ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog. A listing makes a product easier to find, but founders still need investors and partners to hear the story, for example through tech talks and panels for startup founders at sparknify.com/startup-pr-service.
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