OpenAI brings merchant profiles into ChatGPT: you can check exposure and even open a dedicated AI shopping guide.

Beating AI News Flash: OpenAI launches the beta version of Businesses in ChatGPT. Merchants can now claim their business profiles in ChatGPT, similar to managing a Google Business page, updating company information, product prices, and inventory, so users can see more accurate content.

OpenAI also provides a merchant backend called Business Hub. Businesses can view how many times they have been mentioned by ChatGPT, how many clicks to their official websites they have received, and which topics users typically use to find them. In the past, merchants mainly relied on third-party tools to estimate their exposure in AI search; now they can directly view statistics provided by OpenAI.

Eligible merchants can also create a dedicated Business Agent, essentially opening an AI shopping guide or customer service representative within ChatGPT. For example, when users search for running shoes and see a recommendation for a certain brand, they can click into its merchant page and chat directly with the brand AI to ask which model is more suitable for them, what sizes are available, and how much it costs. The AI will answer based on the product and service information provided by the merchant, and when users want to buy, they can then go to the merchant's website to place an order.

Merchants can also pay to promote their AI shopping guides. After users click relevant ads in ChatGPT, they can directly enter the merchant AI's chat window and continue asking about products without first being redirected to the official website. Such conversations will be clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT's original independent answers. Merchants claiming profiles or placing ads will not automatically gain higher organic recommendation rankings as a result.

To protect privacy, merchants can only view aggregated data such as impressions and official website clicks, and cannot read chat records between users and ChatGPT or Business Agent.

Currently, eligible businesses can apply to claim profiles in regions where ChatGPT is available, but Business Agent is temporarily only available to e-commerce and online service businesses in the United States. Business Hub and merchant agents are currently free, and charging fees in the future is not ruled out.