OpenAI on November 10 launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, a suite of tools that lets companies claim verified profiles inside the chatbot, deploy branded AI sales agents, and — for the first time — see how often ChatGPT mentions them and how many clicks those mentions drive1,3,6.
The centerpiece is Business Hub, a dashboard where companies can create and manage profiles displaying their products and services. OpenAI is also providing limited analytics: profile views, business mentions, website clicks, and other engagement metrics. The data comes directly from OpenAI, though it is considerably less detailed than Google Search Console — businesses cannot see the prompts that triggered their appearance, and there are no competitor rankings or user-level data2.
Branded agents inside the chat
Eligible e-commerce and online-service businesses in the United States can build verified Business Agents — specialized AI agents that sit inside ChatGPT and field questions about a company's offerings. Users encounter a Business Agent when a company that has created one surfaces in a ChatGPT response; the conversation then moves into a clearly labeled, separate chat where the shopper can ask follow-up questions such as comparing two products. Businesses specify the agent's instructions and provide context so it knows how to respond.
During a press briefing on November 9, Benji Shomair, OpenAI's commerce chief, demonstrated the feature using a fictional toy retailer called Colorful Clatter4. In the demo, ChatGPT's core chat recommended the store to a user searching for creative toys; the user could then pull up the retailer's profile and browse products before engaging the agent.
Verification and scale
Companies must verify their profiles through a formal process, though OpenAI did not share specifics of what that process would entail. Connecting a Shopify store appears to be one possible way to prove authorization, according to reporting that preceded the launch. OpenAI framed the initiative against ChatGPT's user base, stating that it is giving businesses a new way to connect with the 1.2 billion people who use ChatGPT each week.
The launch lands on the same day that two of OpenAI's closest competitors made major moves: Anthropic unveiled an office-productivity suite including live meeting agents[1], and Google began rolling out Gemini 4 Carbon to paid users[3].
ANALYSIS Where those releases target developer and enterprise productivity workflows, OpenAI's Business Hub positions ChatGPT as a consumer-commerce surface — a channel where brands pay attention to visibility metrics rather than API throughput.