OpenAI opens business profiles and separate merchant agents in ChatGPT OpenAI opens business profiles and separate merchant agents in ChatGPT

A profile and a conversation

Business Hub lets verified organizations maintain details and product feeds with prices and availability. When a business appears in a response, a customer can open its profile and choose a separate agent conversation. OpenAI also allows the same agent to serve as an advertising destination. Sponsored placements carry their own label. This creates two distinct entry points into a merchant conversation: discovery through an answer and paid distribution. The launch broadens the business presence inside ChatGPT without turning every mention into a customer-service session.

Verification has more than one gate

The setup documentation separates claiming a business from identity approval and agent publication. A phone, business email, domain or Shopify connection can establish the claim. Persona approval is then required for publishing changes, connecting feeds and viewing insights. A blue verification check follows that approval. Businesses can manage information without advertising or publishing an agent. Agent access has additional location, category and website requirements. The help page also says existing local-store and restaurant listings are currently claimable only in the United States. For an operator, these are separate operational steps with different outcomes.

The seller must identify its role

The Business Agents Policy requires an agent to identify itself as AI representing the merchant. It cannot pose as an independent adviser or a human, or imply OpenAI endorsement. Instructions must preserve material fees and conditions. The policy also prohibits pressure after a customer declines, invented guarantees and unnecessary collection of sensitive information. Providing user information to the business or submitting a form requires explicit authorization through an approved feature. These are constraints on the instructions and material a business supplies, not evidence that each generated answer has been audited.

A click is not a completed sale

OpenAI’s documentation describes insights over the past 28 days. For an online business, a counted mention requires a reference to its website; a name alone is insufficient. Digiday reported that website clicks measure link interaction, not completed visits or purchases. In the same briefing, OpenAI said businesses could not bring their own agents into this experience. The publication reported that Business Hub and agents are free at launch, while leaving future pricing open. This limits what a merchant can conclude from the dashboard: distribution and commercial outcomes remain different measurements.

Profile accuracy remains the business’s job

The profile policy assigns responsibility for submitted information to the business, including service areas, qualifications and availability. It also forbids misleading links, fabricated endorsements and concealed terms. OpenAI says it can remove content or restrict profile management, and does not verify every detail or settle every factual dispute. That makes the profile another maintained customer-facing record. A verified identity establishes who can represent the seller; it does not transfer responsibility for the seller’s claims to the platform.