OpenAI announced Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on November 10, 2026. Through Business Hub, eligible businesses can manage a profile and view aggregate insights. Business Agents are a separate feature: eligible U.S. businesses may offer a labeled conversation that explains their services and links to their website, but it cannot complete purchases, bookings or order checks. OpenAI’s announcement and Business Hub guidance describe two distinct tools, with different eligibility and jobs.
Profiles and Business Agents do different jobs
A Business Hub profile lets a business provide information such as its website, description, category, logo, delivery and return policies. A business can also connect product information through a Shopify feed or a CSV that follows OpenAI’s specifications. OpenAI reviews profile changes before publishing them, and ChatGPT may draw on other sources too. Adding a profile or product feed does not guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend the business.
A Business Agent is a customer-facing conversation associated with a business. It can explain offerings and policies and link to the company website, where the customer completes an action. OpenAI says eligible U.S. ecommerce and online service businesses with a website may qualify, subject to industry and verification requirements.
| Feature | Who may qualify | What it does | Key boundary |
| Business Hub profile | Eligibility depends on business type, location and supported verification. Local stores and restaurants can claim an existing U.S. listing. | Lets a business manage profile details, share product information and view aggregate insights. | Claiming does not guarantee increased visibility or control over ChatGPT’s independent recommendations. |
| Business Agent | Eligible U.S. ecommerce and online service businesses with a website, subject to requirements. | Offers a labeled conversation about the business and links to its website. | Does not complete purchases, bookings or order checks. |
OpenAI also says a business may sponsor its agent as a destination for ChatGPT Ads. That option is distinct from the Sponsored Agents format covered earlier: a Business Agent is the business’s labeled conversation, while the sponsored placement is an ad destination.
Treat the profile as a way to maintain business information, and the agent as a limited customer conversation—not as a ranking control or a transaction system.
How claiming and verification work
A business claim must first be approved by OpenAI. Claim methods can vary by listing and may include a business phone number, business email, website-domain TXT record or Shopify store. After the claim is approved, the administrator must complete identity verification through Persona before key functions—such as publishing profile changes, connecting a product feed, viewing insights or creating an eligible agent—become available. OpenAI says the blue check appears after that identity approval.
OpenAI’s setup guide explains the verification sequence and profile controls. A creator’s English-language screen walkthrough shows Business Hub profile and verification screens.
What Business Hub insights count
Business Hub reports aggregate activity over the preceding 28 days, including mentions, website clicks and discovery topics. The mention rules differ by business type: for an online business, ChatGPT must reference its website; for a local business, a result for the location counts even if the user does not open it.
A blank metric does not necessarily mean there was no activity. OpenAI says it can reflect a reporting threshold, ongoing data collection or unavailable reporting. Discovery topics are aggregated themes, not individual prompts or direct measures of customer intent. Businesses do not receive individual prompts or consumer conversations, including chats with their Business Agents. OpenAI also says claiming a profile does not guarantee greater visibility or give a business control over independent recommendations.
Teams, brands and published profiles
The administrator who claims a profile can invite teammates or grant an agency access; each person uses their own ChatGPT account, and workspace membership may be required depending on the account used to claim it. Separate brands are managed separately, and claiming a main brand does not claim its locations.
Only unpublished drafts can be deleted. OpenAI Support cannot delete, unpublish or hide a published profile for a setup or ownership request.
