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TL;DR
OpenAI launched a beta on Nov. 10 that lets businesses claim ChatGPT profiles, provide product information and view aggregated discovery metrics. Eligible U.S. businesses can also offer separate AI agents in ChatGPT; a reported $10 billion in third-quarter revenue and an acquisition of travel startup Odessia add to the picture, but financial and product details remain limited.
OpenAI on Nov. 10 launched Businesses in ChatGPT, a beta that lets companies claim profiles, supply product and pricing information, and track certain ways they appear in chatbot responses. The rollout gives businesses new tools to reach ChatGPT users and marks a step toward making the service a place where people can discover and compare products, not just ask questions.
The beta has two parts, according to OpenAI’s announcement as described by Reuters, The Verge and TechCrunch. In the Business Hub, companies can claim and verify a profile, update business details and add product feeds with prices and availability. The Hub provides aggregated measures including mentions in ChatGPT responses, profile views, website clicks and topics associated with discovery.
Eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses can also offer a Business Agent. Users who encounter a participating business in a ChatGPT answer can open a separate, labeled conversation with the agent to ask about its products or services. Businesses supply the agent’s instructions and information. OpenAI says those chats are kept separate from users’ main conversations and that it does not share users’ conversations or agent chats with businesses.
Companies can sponsor their Business Agents and use them as destinations for ChatGPT Ads; sponsored placements are labeled, according to the source material. The company has not published financial statements, but The Information reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion. Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth over the prior quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters, said operating losses widened to $10.9 billion in the same quarter.
Could OpenAI Become the New Google? Inside Its Latest Moves
Businesses in ChatGPT is a new beta for profiles, product information and customer follow-up. It brings commercial discovery closer to ChatGPT, but does not show that the service has replaced Google.
What businesses can do
The Nov. 10 beta gives companies tools to manage how they appear in ChatGPT.
Claim a business
Verify a profile, update business details and add product feeds with prices and availability.
See aggregate activity
The Hub reports mentions, profile views, website clicks and topics associated with discovery.
Answer follow-up questions
Eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses can offer separate Business Agent chats.
What users may notice
The beta could change how people find and evaluate businesses through ChatGPT.
- More current product, price and availability details
- A direct way to ask a business follow-up questions
- Sponsored agents and ads add a commercial layer
- Sponsored placements are labeled, according to OpenAI
A broader commercial push
Several developments surround the beta, but their connection and likely impact remain unclear.
What remains uncertain
Businesses and users will need clearer details to judge the beta’s reach and value.
- Verification rules and which businesses appear in answers
- How product feeds affect responses and what thresholds apply to aggregate insights
- Eligibility expansion, adoption and the impact of sponsored placements
- Financial figures are media reports, not published audited results; Odessia’s terms were undisclosed
A New Route to Business Discovery
The launch gives companies a way to manage how their information appears in ChatGPT and to see some aggregate results. That could make accurate business details and structured product data more consequential when users rely on a chatbot to find a service or compare products. The profile metrics also offer businesses a view of activity inside ChatGPT, although OpenAI has not described all reporting thresholds or how the system selects businesses for answers.
For users, profiles and product feeds could help ChatGPT provide more current details about prices, availability and services. Business Agents add a direct channel for follow-up questions. At the same time, the option to sponsor agents and connect them with ads introduces a commercial layer. OpenAI says sponsored placements are labeled, but the balance between organic recommendations and paid placement will matter to users evaluating chatbot suggestions.
The revenue and loss reports point to the financial stakes, but do not establish that the new business tools will produce a particular return or change OpenAI’s financial position. The rollout is a product development, not evidence that ChatGPT has replaced Google as a search or local-business platform.
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From ChatGPT Shopping to Business Tools
OpenAI describes the beta as an early step in bringing businesses further into ChatGPT. Vice President of Monetization Benji Shomair told journalists that the company uses multiple verification methods for different business types and markets. Existing Enterprise customers and advertisers can claim businesses through an OpenAI representative; Shopify merchants can connect through Business Hub or Shopify’s administration tools.
The move follows an earlier effort to make ChatGPT a shopping destination with direct checkout and commissions. TechCrunch reported that the effort did not gain traction and was retired in March. The company has also been building an advertising business: in August, OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, a company-reported figure.
Separate developments reported around the launch include OpenAI’s acquisition of Odessia, an AI travel-agent startup. Founder Francis Davidson said he was joining OpenAI; an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed his hiring to TechCrunch. The acquisition terms were not disclosed. Taken together, the product launch, acquisition and revenue reports suggest a broader push into discovery and commercial interactions, though they do not establish a single unified strategy or its likely outcome.
“Just a little bit more like Google.”
— TechCrunch, describing the profile launch
Verification, Reach and Revenue Remain Open
OpenAI has not detailed exactly how businesses will be verified, how profiles or product feeds will affect answers, or what criteria determine which companies appear. The company says insights are aggregated and appear only after activity passes certain thresholds, but the source material does not specify those thresholds. The initial agent offering is limited to eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses; the timing and scope of any expansion are unknown.
The financial figures are media reports, not published financial statements. OpenAI has not released audited results in the material cited, and the reported revenue and operating-loss figures should not be treated as independently confirmed disclosures. Odessia’s acquisition price and terms are also undisclosed. It remains unclear how much use businesses or customers will make of the new features, and whether the launch will affect ChatGPT’s position against established search and commerce services.
Beta Adoption Will Test the Model
The immediate next step is for eligible businesses to claim profiles, connect product information and test Business Agents as the beta becomes available. Businesses will need to see whether the Hub’s aggregate metrics provide useful guidance and whether customers use the separate agents to ask follow-up questions. OpenAI has not announced a broader launch date or a schedule for expanding eligibility.
Further details to watch include the verification rules, how product data is reflected in answers, the safeguards and labeling around sponsored placements, and whether OpenAI publishes clearer reporting on business activity. The company’s next disclosures on product availability and financial performance may clarify how the beta fits into its commercial plans. Until then, the launch shows a new attempt to bring business listings and transactions closer to ChatGPT, not a confirmed shift in consumer search habits.
Key Questions
What did OpenAI announce?
OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT, a beta with claimable business profiles, product feeds, aggregated insights and separate AI agents for eligible companies.
Can any business join the beta?
No. Business Agents are initially available to eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses. The source material does not give a full eligibility list or an expansion schedule.
What information can businesses see?
The Business Hub is described as showing aggregated measures such as mentions, profile views, website clicks and discovery topics. OpenAI says insights appear only after activity passes thresholds, whose exact levels have not been disclosed.
Does the launch mean ChatGPT is replacing Google?
No. The features make ChatGPT more like a business-discovery channel, but the launch does not show that users have shifted away from Google or that ChatGPT has replaced it.
Are OpenAI’s reported revenue and losses confirmed?
The figures cited are media reports. OpenAI has not published financial statements in the source material, so the reported $10 billion in third-quarter revenue and $10.9 billion in operating losses are not presented as company-published financial results.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
