Blog By Daniel Peris
On November 10, 2026, OpenAI opened Businesses in ChatGPT in beta. Companies can now claim the profile ChatGPT shows about them, correct their details, upload products, see how often they come up and, in the US, put a branded agent in front of customers. They manage all of it from ChatGPT Business Hub.
It's free at launch, and it's the first time OpenAI has given brands its own numbers on how they show up in ChatGPT's answers. The first dashboards were already being shared on X on launch day. This guide covers how to claim and verify a business, what Insights measures, where Business Agents and ads fit in, and what OpenAI hasn't explained yet.
What OpenAI launched #
Businesses in ChatGPT has two parts.
Business Hub is the management side. Once a business is verified, it can update its key details, add a product feed with prices and availability, and open Insights, a dashboard with aggregated counts of mentions, profile views, website clicks and the topics people discuss when its website is cited.
Business Agents are branded chats that answer customer questions about a company's products and policies inside ChatGPT. They're built from the business's own instructions and product feed, and OpenAI runs them. At launch they're limited to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States.
Three more things to know:
- They're free for now. OpenAI's VP of Monetization, Benji Shomair,told Digiday that OpenAI hasn't ruled out charging later.
- Businesses don't see conversations. OpenAI says it doesn't share people's chats or Business Agent conversations with businesses. Insights are aggregated, and low counts can be withheld.
- There's an ad product attached. A business can sponsor its agent and use it as the destination of a ChatGPT ad. Sponsored placements are labeled and kept apart from ChatGPT's answers.
Who can claim a business in ChatGPT #
OpenAI says claiming is open to eligible businesses wherever ChatGPT is available, starting with businesses that have a website. Eligibility depends on the industry, the location and verification and integrity checks, and the person claiming must own the business or be authorized to represent it. You don't need a ChatGPT Ads account or an Enterprise agreement, according to OpenAI's help article on setting up your business.
The global wording comes with gaps. OpenAI hasn't published a list of countries. At least one claim made outside the US went to a waitlist on launch day, according to PPC Land. Developer Flavio Copes, who tested the setup from Italy, reports that local businesses can only claim an existing listing, and only in the US. Expect the rules to move during the beta.
There are two shortcuts. Shopify merchants can connect from Business Hub or from the Shopify admin, and existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can work with their OpenAI representative.
How to claim and verify your business #
The process is smoother when your public details already match your official records.
- Find your business or add your website. Search for your listing in Business Hub. If there isn't one, you can add your site and choose the type of business, for example an online store.
- Verify that you control it. The methods reported so far are a code sent by text or automated call to the business phone number, a code sent to a business email address, a TXT record added to your domain's DNS, or a Shopify connection. Use the one you control directly: a DNS record or a business email on your own domain is easier to prove than a phone line someone else answers.
- Pass the identity check. OpenAI's verification partner, Persona, may ask for a government-issued ID, business registration details and proof that you're authorized to act for the company. The name, address and registration or tax number you enter need to match official records.
- Update your details and add products. Correct the name, description, contact details and links ChatGPT uses, then add a product feed with prices and availability if you sell online.
- Wait for data. Insights only appear once activity passes a reporting threshold, so a new or small business may see blanks for a while.
Claim yours early, even if you don't plan to use the agent. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable wrote on launch day that he was "honestly nervous about people hijacking businesses on here," and OpenAI's announcement doesn't explain how competing claims to the same business are resolved.
What Business Hub Insights shows #
Insights has two tabs, Brand insights and Agent insights, and the people with access describe seven-day and 28-day views. Brand insights shows tiles for mentions, profile views and website clicks, a mentions trend chart and the top five discovery topics.
What OpenAI counts behind each tile:
| Metric | What OpenAI counts |
|---|---|
| Mentions (online business) | Times ChatGPT referenced your website. Naming the brand alone doesn't count |
| Mentions (local business) | Times ChatGPT showed a result for your location, even if nobody opened it |
| Profile views | Views of your business profile in ChatGPT |
| Website clicks | "Number of recorded clicks on links to your website in ChatGPT." Clicks "don't confirm website visits or conversions" |
| Discovery topics | Common themes across conversations where your website is cited |
The first row is where Business Hub differs from most AI visibility tools. For an online business, a mention in Business Hub is a reference to its website, so a brand that ChatGPT names without linking its site gets nothing. We look at what that does to the numbers in why Business Hub doesn't count brand mentions.
Insights also leaves a lot out: no prompts or conversations (only aggregated themes), no competitors, no share of voice and no record of what ChatGPT said about you. It covers ChatGPT only.
Business Agents and sponsored agents #
A Business Agent is a separate, labeled conversation that a customer can open from ChatGPT to ask about a company's products and policies. It answers from the instructions and product feed the business provides. Businesses can't plug in an agent they built elsewhere, and when the shopper is ready to buy, the agent sends them to the brand's own site, according to Digiday. OpenAI has also published a separate policy for what Business Agents may say and do.
The sponsored agent is the paid version of the same thing: an ad in ChatGPT whose destination is the agent. OpenAI began testing it in September, and Shomair told Digiday the early tests showed "promising results," particularly in the depth of conversations between consumers and businesses. Digiday's headline calls the free agent a way into the conversation that OpenAI is also selling as an ad.
Ads are already a normal part of ChatGPT in the US. In our analysis of 36,153 US ChatGPT answers collected between July 25 and August 4, 2026, 71.9% carried at least one ad.
Does any of this make ChatGPT recommend you more often? OpenAI says no. Shomair said claiming a business "should not have an impact on how frequently it appears," and OpenAI's product page says claiming "does not guarantee higher placement or sales." A complete profile gives ChatGPT accurate details to use when it does mention you.
What Business Hub won't tell you #
Business Hub's numbers come from OpenAI itself, and they're worth having. They're also narrow, for reasons we set out before launch in why ChatGPT's console won't bring keywords back:
- It covers one assistant. Gemini, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and Claude don't appear in it.
- It counts website references. Answers that name you without linking your site don't count as mentions.
- It shows themes, not questions. You learn the topics, never the prompts that led to them.
- It has no context. You can't see who was recommended instead of you, which sources ChatGPT cited or what it said about your brand.
- It has gaps by design. Low numbers can be withheld, so a blank tile doesn't mean zero.
What to do this week #
- Claim and verify your business , using a verification method you control.
- Make your details consistent. Name, address, phone number, website and product data should match what your site, your Google Business Profile and your marketplace listings say.
- Record a baseline. Note your ChatGPT sessions in analytics before the numbers start moving. Since October 9 many ChatGPT visits arrive without a referrer or UTM tag and land in Direct, so check Direct traffic on your top ChatGPT landing pages too.
- Save your Insights numbers regularly. The views reported so far cover seven and 28 days, so keep your own history.
- Get your own pages cited. For an online business, Business Hub only counts references to your website. Our guide onhow to get your brand cited by ChatGPT covers what earns those links.
- Test the agent before you sponsor it if you're a US ecommerce or online service business. Ask it about returns, shipping and pricing, and fix the feed until the answers are right.
Where LLM Pulse fits #
Business Hub tells you how often ChatGPT referenced your site. LLM Pulse shows you the answers behind that number. It runs a fixed set of prompts across ChatGPT and the other assistants you track, on a schedule, and records every brand each answer names, every page it cites, where you rank against competitors and the sentiment of what was said.
Use both. Business Hub confirms the trend from OpenAI's side, and a repeated prompt sample explains it. See every answer behind your ChatGPT numbers
Track the brands ChatGPT names, the pages it cites and how you compare with competitors, across every major AI assistant.
Frequently asked questions #
What is ChatGPT Business Hub?
Business Hub is where businesses manage their presence in ChatGPT. Launched in beta on November 10, 2026 as part of Businesses in ChatGPT, it lets eligible companies claim and verify their profile, update their details, add a product feed and see aggregated Insights. US ecommerce and online service businesses can also build a Business Agent from it.
Is ChatGPT Business Hub free?
Yes, at launch. Business Hub and Business Agents are free for now, although OpenAI hasn't ruled out charging later. Sponsoring your agent as a ChatGPT ad is a paid placement.
Who can claim a business in ChatGPT?
OpenAI says eligible businesses wherever ChatGPT is available can claim, starting with businesses that have a website. Eligibility depends on industry, location and verification checks, and you must own the business or be authorized to represent it. OpenAI hasn't published a country list, and at least one claim made outside the US was waitlisted on launch day.
How do you verify a business in ChatGPT?
The reported methods are a code by text or automated call to the business phone, a code sent to a business email, a TXT record on your domain's DNS, or connecting a Shopify store. OpenAI's partner Persona may also ask for a government-issued ID, business registration details and proof that you're authorized.
What does ChatGPT Business Hub Insights show?
Insights shows aggregated mentions, profile views, website clicks and the top discovery topics, with seven-day and 28-day views. For an online business, a mention means ChatGPT referenced your website. It shows no prompts, no conversations, no competitors and no data from other AI assistants.
Does claiming your business improve your visibility in ChatGPT?
OpenAI says no. Its VP of Monetization said claiming a business should not change how often it appears, and OpenAI says claiming doesn't guarantee higher placement or sales. Sponsored placements are labeled and shown separately from ChatGPT's answers. A complete profile gives ChatGPT accurate details to use when it does mention you.
What is a ChatGPT Business Agent?
A Business Agent is a labeled conversation, separate from the user's own chat, that answers questions about a company's products and policies using the instructions and product feed the company provides. At launch it's limited to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the US.
Can businesses see what users asked ChatGPT?
No. OpenAI says it doesn't share people's conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses. Insights only shows aggregated counts and themes, and low counts can be withheld for privacy.
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