Customers are searching differently. Many will no longer trawl through 10 different websites but instead ask their AI assistant and trust the response. If you are running a shop, service company or online business in India then this is important. The news about businesses being able to introduce chatgpt means OpenAI have opened up a new way for companies to provide accurate information. We will look at what it is, who can use it and what you should do first.
What Are Businesses in ChatGPT?
ChatGPT Businesses is an OpenAI beta launched on 10 November 2026 allowing businesses to create an official profile in ChatGPT. Companies will be able to manage their information, see insights into how users interact with them, and for eligible businesses in the US, run their own AI chat agent.
According to OpenAI, it enables businesses to connect with the 1.2 billion weekly users of ChatGPT. A business can be displayed, which will give users the ability to click into your profile to view your products and information. If you have a Business Agent, users can launch a separate chat with you. The package has two parts:
- Business Hub: Where to verify and manage your business, including updating essential information and product feeds (including pricing and availability). You can also see insights.
- Business Agents: Chatbot with your brand, where you can answer customer questions using your own data.
How Does Business Hub Work?
Business Hub follows a simple order: claim first, verify second, edit third. Only verified owners can change details or add feeds.
| Function | What it does | Who can use it |
| Claim profile | Links your business to a verified ChatGPT profile | Any eligible business where ChatGPT is available |
| Update details | Edit key information after verification | Verified owners |
| Product feeds | Self-service feeds with pricing and availability | Verified owners |
| Enterprise and advertisers | Claim through an OpenAI representative | Existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers |
| Shopify | Connect your store from Business Hub or Shopify admin | Shopify merchants |
One honest caveat: OpenAI says ChatGPT may use the information you provide to answer questions. It has not promised that claiming a profile will make you appear more often.
How to Claim Your Business in ChatGPT
Although OpenAI have not provided a full guide on all verification methods and the process may change during the beta period. We can expect to do the following based on the launch flow:
- Launch the Business Hub using the ‘Claim your business in ChatGPT’ link from the OpenAI announcement.
- Search for the business by its name and select the correct option or create one.
- Verify ownership. This is done via a text or phone call to the main business number. Or via DNS verification on your domain. Shopify merchants can integrate their store.
- Your claim status will change to ‘Review in Progress’. You will receive an email containing the outcome of your claim. During this time you can cancel your claim.
- Verify your identity. You will be asked to upload a government issued ID in order to make any changes to the business.
- Ensure that your name, service, location and description match what is on your own website.
- Add your product feed. This should include price and stock information. Decide who in your team is responsible for data quality.
- Set your baseline. On day one capture mentions, profile views and clicks. Do not make any changes.
Not everyone was able to get through on launch day. Some were put on a waiting list. Publishers also noted that the sign up is aimed at product/service orientated businesses.
What Insights Do You Get?
Business Hub shows aggregated numbers, never individual conversations. The dashboard has two tabs, Brand insights and Agent insights, with seven-day and 28-day views.
- Mentions: how often ChatGPT mentions your business.
- Profile views: how many people open your ChatGPT profile.
- Website clicks: recorded clicks on links to your website.
- Discovery topics: common themes in conversations where your website is cited. The dashboard lists the top five.
The limits matter as much as the features:
- OpenAI does not share user conversations or Business Agent chats with you.
- Data appears only after enough conversations meet certain thresholds, and OpenAI has not said what those thresholds are. A small business may see blank tiles at first. That does not mean zero mentions.
- The clicks tile carries a warning that clicks do not confirm website visits or conversions.
- There is no prompt data, no competitor comparison and no ranking.
- Early dashboards showed data through the day before launch, so expect a reporting delay of at least a day.
OpenAI’s example dashboard for a fictional toy shop showed 15,356 mentions and 5,432 clicks in seven days. Two real dashboards shared at launch were far smaller: one showed 690 mentions and 24 clicks over 28 days. Treat the demo numbers as an illustration, not a target.
Business Agents | A Chat With Your Business Inside ChatGPT
After claiming a profile, an eligible business can build, test and launch a Business Agent. Customers choose whether to start the conversation. OpenAI’s example is a shopper comparing two products and asking which one fits their needs, with the agent answering from the business’s own information.
The agent chat is clearly labelled, separate from the customer’s original ChatGPT conversation and distinct from ChatGPT’s independent answers.
| Feature | Business Hub | Business Agent |
| Status | Beta | Available to eligible businesses |
| Region | Eligible businesses where ChatGPT is available | United States only |
| Business type | Industry-dependent eligibility | E-commerce and online services |
| Requirement | Claim and verification | Claimed profile, then build, test, launch |
| Expansion | More markets planned | More markets and categories planned, no dates |
An agent is only as good as the information behind it. Wrong prices or misleading answers will cost you customer trust, so test it before launch.
ChatGPT Ads and Sponsored Agents
Businesses can sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements are labelled and kept separate from ChatGPT’s answers. OpenAI began testing Sponsored Agents with select US advertisers on 16 September 2026, and ads appear only on the Free and Go plans.
Paid visits may not behave like Google traffic. A working paper by Kaiser and Schulze, reported by PPC Land, found a paid ChatGPT ad visit generated $0.89 in revenue for US shops, against $2.45 for a paid Google search ad visit. Test with a small budget before you commit.
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How Does This Compare With Google Business Profile?
Businesses in ChatGPT are a direct competitor to Google Business Profile. It allows you to identify, verify and update your business however it is shown to the customer within an AI response rather than a search result. The wider market is also moving this way.
- In January 2026, Google launched their own Business Agent within Search for US Retailers. This is for users who use Merchant Center.
- Meta released their Business Agent for WhatsApp, Messenger & Instagram in June 2026. This includes a free tier.
- On 4th November 2026 Amazon launched their free Shop Direct Merchant Workspace to allow external stores to upload their product feeds.
The trends are around having product data in a structured format. You can input pricing & availability data. The platform will give you how many mentions and clicks you have received. Shopify also shared that they have seen a 3.3x increase in orders from AI.
Continue to use Google Business Profile, your website, reviews and local search. ChatGPT is another avenue to use.
What Does This Mean for Indian MSMEs and Startups?
Here is the practical picture for a business owner in India.
What can be done now?
- Claim and verify your profile within Business Hub if your business is eligible.
- Ensure that the business name, address, phone number, services and description match on your website, Google Business Profile and ChatGPT profile. This should also match those on your Udyam Registration and GST.
- Create a clean product/service feed with up-to-date pricing and stock levels.
- Set a benchmark during the first week, and refer back to these during equivalent 4 week timeframes.
What cannot be done yet?
- Create a Business Agent. Agents will only be available to eligible e-commerce and online services businesses in the US.
- Some more advanced technical tasks.
- Decide whether you wish to allow OAI-SearchBot. This will be separate to the GPTBot.
- Keep a log of all content changes including feeds and campaigns and include dates. This will allow you to track results based on changes made.
- If there is any missing data, record this as unknown.
Businesses such as a tailor in Surat selling ethnic clothing online or a digital marketing agency in Pune will benefit from having the correct services, locations and pricing available to AI assistants. At the moment it has not been announced whether Indian businesses will have access to agents, however you can check whether your business is eligible using the help documents within OpenAI’s Business Hub.
What Is Not Yet Clear?
By being transparent on these aspects there can be trust. However, OpenAI still has some questions to answer:
- How many conversations can be conducted before any data can be seen?
- What counts as a mention? If mentions are made more than once in one chat does that count as 1.
- Does claiming a profile improve the amount of mentions you receive? There is no documentation that this is the case.
- How can you dispute a profile which has been claimed by someone who isn’t authorised. Search experts have expressed their concerns regarding the businesses being hacked.
- Is there a cost to using the programme? There is no cost to claiming or publishing an agent.
- What happens to publishers and businesses that aren’t selling?
In terms of trust, one analyst told TechTarget that OpenAI will need to be clear that they aren’t collecting and using customer data. There are also concerns about agents getting out of control, which could concern larger firms.
How ChatGPT Can Help Your Business Beyond the Hub
Business Hub is one piece. ChatGPT as a tool also supports daily operations.
Customer Communication
Create standardised responses to questions about sizing, returns, delivery and price. Then you can use these in your kirana-style online shop to respond on WhatsApp and email. Always proofread responses.
Marketing Content
This can be used to create content calendars, social posts, email marketing, product copy and ideas for advertisements. You could create a content calendar for the month as a small agency in minutes. All content should be proofread and include accurate information from customer experience.
Understanding Customers
Use this to group customer reviews, survey answers and frequently asked questions around themes like price, delivery and quality. If a restaurant receives lots of complaints about slow delivery, it shows something may need to change within their operations. Ensure you have checked this against your actual data.
Save Time
Create summaries from meeting notes, draft follow up emails, initial job descriptions and organise documentation. This is to reduce repetitive tasks.
Make Better Decisions
This can help by asking it to create a competitor research framework or target audience suggestions. This will help you to structure your thoughts but cannot replace verified market research or professional advise.
Getting Started in Six Steps
- List your repetitive tasks.
- Start with easy-to-review jobs such as drafts and summaries.
- Give clear context: product, audience, offer, tone and desired action.
- Review every important output.
- Measure time saved, response quality and leads.
- Expand gradually into integrations and automation.
Risks to Manage
- Data privacy: do not enter customer details, financial records or passwords without checking privacy and security terms. Keep the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in mind when handling customer data. (Verify current rules on the official MeitY portal.)
- Incorrect information: AI can be outdated or wrong. Verify facts and figures.
- Human oversight: empathy and judgment still need people.
- Cost: advanced integrations need investment. Match spend to need.
- Customer trust: tell customers when they are talking to an AI agent.
Key Takeaways
- All businesses using ChatGPT (10 November 2026 was the Beta launch date) can view Business Hub with their 1.2 Billion weekly ChatGPT users.
- Business Hub is available to all eligible businesses using ChatGPT worldwide including India.
- Business Agents only currently work with eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the USA.
- You’ll get an overview of aggregated mentions, profile views, clicks and discovery topics. You will not get any conversation or prompt data.
- By claiming you won’t get guaranteed extra visibility, but having accurate & consistent data will help.
- Start by building up a benchmark and track any fluctuations over the same time period.
Ready To Take The Next Step For Your Business?
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FAQs
The ChatGPT Business beta allows eligible businesses to create a verified ChatGPT profile. They can update their information and view aggregate insights around how people have interacted with their content. Eligible businesses in the US can build Business Agents.
Business Hub can be used by eligible businesses wherever ChatGPT is available. Eligibility will depend on the industry, region and OpenAI verification requirements. Some businesses may be placed on a waitlist.
Currently no, Business Agents can only be created by eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the US. More regions will be added.
You can verify using text or phone to your primary business number, via DNS or if you are a Shopify merchant by linking your shop. The Hub will also ask you to provide government ID.
There is no cost to claim your profile or publish your agent. Costs will only incur if you want to promote your agent using ChatGPT Ads.
No, you will only see aggregate insights and only if they reach certain thresholds.
No one can guarantee this. Whilst OpenAI state that they may use your information within ChatGPT there is no evidence to suggest you will rank higher by verifying. This will depend on your products, quality of data and demand.
Yes, if you use it responsibly. Ensure that you protect any sensitive data, verify key outputs and ensure humans remain in control of customer relationships.
