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TL;DR
OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on Nov. 10, giving companies tools to claim profiles, provide product data and review aggregate visibility insights. The launch, alongside a reported acquisition of travel startup Odessia and reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion, points to a broader effort to make ChatGPT a place for business discovery and commerce. The revenue figure and acquisition terms have not been disclosed in company financial statements or public deal details.
OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on Nov. 10, giving companies a way to claim profiles, add product information and see aggregate data about how they appear in chatbot responses. The move gives businesses a new route to manage their presence in ChatGPT as the company builds tools for product discovery and paid placements; separately, an acquisition and revenue figure reported the same day remain subject to important limits on what has been publicly confirmed.
The beta has two parts, according to OpenAI’s announcement as described by Reuters, The Verge and TechCrunch. In Business Hub, a company can claim and verify a profile, update business details and provide product feeds with pricing and availability. The Hub also displays aggregate measures such as mentions in ChatGPT answers, profile views, website clicks and topics that led people to the business. OpenAI has not published a full explanation of its verification process.
The second component, Business Agents, lets eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses offer a separate AI conversation about their products. The business provides the agent’s instructions and information; users can open it from a ChatGPT answer and ask about its offerings, including comparisons. OpenAI says those chats are labeled and kept separate from a user’s main conversation. At launch, the feature is limited to eligible businesses in the United States.
OpenAI says it does not share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with companies, and that insights are shown only after activity reaches certain thresholds. Businesses can sponsor an agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT ads, with sponsored placements labeled. Shopify merchants can connect stores through Business Hub or Shopify’s admin, while existing OpenAI enterprise customers and advertisers can claim a profile through their OpenAI representative.
OpenAI’s Google Ambitions and What’s Still Reported
Businesses in ChatGPT is a beta for business profiles and product conversations. It signals a push toward discovery and commerce, while adoption and reported financial figures remain unconfirmed.
A New Business Channel
Companies can manage how they appear and offer product conversations inside ChatGPT.
Profiles and product data
Businesses can verify profiles, update details and provide pricing and availability feeds.
Separate product chats
Eligible U.S. businesses can offer labeled conversations about their products.
Visibility measures
Aggregate views, mentions and clicks may help businesses track discovery in ChatGPT.
What It Could Mean
The beta connects business information, customer conversations and commercial placements.
- Maintain product details shown in ChatGPT.
- Measure activity and direct users to a site or sponsored agent.
- Ask product questions and compare offerings in a chat.
- Check sponsored labels and consider how business content shapes answers.
Confirmed and Reported
The beta launch is confirmed; related financial and deal details have different levels of public support.
| Development | What is public | What remains unclear |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses in ChatGPT | OpenAI announced the beta | Adoption and commercial impact |
| Odessia | Founder announced acquisition; hire confirmed | Deal terms |
| Third-quarter results | Revenue and losses reported by media | Company financial statements |
ChatGPT Becomes a Business Channel
The launch gives companies a direct way to supply information that may shape how ChatGPT describes them, and provides a limited view of whether users encounter that information. Mentions, views and clicks could become practical measures for businesses trying to understand whether AI answers send potential customers their way. Product feeds also make details such as price and availability part of the information businesses can maintain for ChatGPT.
For users, the tools could make it easier to ask product questions or compare offerings within a chatbot conversation. They also bring commercial incentives into the same environment: businesses may sponsor agents or use them as destinations for ads. OpenAI says sponsored placements will be labeled, but the quality and independence of recommendations will matter to users evaluating answers that include business content.
The development is not evidence that ChatGPT has replaced conventional search or that the new tools will draw broad business adoption. It does show OpenAI building several parts of a commercial channel: business information, product conversations, measurement and advertising. The potential effect on local discovery, online sales and search marketing will depend on adoption and how ChatGPT uses business-provided information.
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From Shopping Tests to Profiles
OpenAI describes the beta as an early step toward bringing businesses more deeply into ChatGPT. The company’s announcement said its initial focus is accurate business information, useful insights and conversations intended to help people make informed decisions. Benji Shomair, OpenAI’s vice president of monetization, told journalists that the company uses “multiple verification methods” for different business types and markets.
TechCrunch reported that OpenAI previously tried direct checkout and a commission model for shopping in ChatGPT, but retired that effort in March after it did not take off. The current beta instead centers on profiles, product data and conversations that can send users to a business or sponsored agent. OpenAI had also said in August that ChatGPT ads had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate; that company-reported advertising figure is separate from the third-quarter revenue estimate now circulating.
Other developments reported alongside the launch add to the commercial picture but are not all confirmed in the same way. Founder Francis Davidson announced that OpenAI acquired his AI travel-agent startup, Odessia, and that he is joining the company. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the hire to TechCrunch, but deal terms were not disclosed. The Information reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion, and Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth from the previous quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. Those figures are reported estimates, not published financial statements.
Revenue and Rollout Details
OpenAI has not released financial statements confirming the reported $10 billion in third-quarter revenue. The Information first reported that figure; Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth from the prior quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters, also said OpenAI’s operating losses widened to $10.9 billion in the quarter. These are reported figures, and the company has not published a detailed set of results against which readers can independently check them.
OpenAI has not disclosed the terms of the Odessia acquisition. The profile verification process, the thresholds for showing activity insights and the method used to determine which businesses appear in ChatGPT answers also remain unclear. The company has not said how widely the beta will expand beyond its initial eligibility rules, or whether every listed business will have the same tools.
It is also too early to tell whether profiles and agents will produce meaningful customer traffic or sales. OpenAI has described the features and privacy safeguards, but has not supplied adoption figures, conversion results or independent evidence about how business information affects answers. The launch’s effects on search and advertising remain possibilities, not established outcomes.
Watch for Wider Business Access
The immediate next step is the beta’s rollout to eligible companies. Businesses will be able to claim profiles through the routes OpenAI has described, while eligible U.S. online businesses can apply the agent features. OpenAI has not announced a timetable for general availability or provided a public schedule for expanding eligibility.
For a clearer measure of the launch, readers will need further information on participating businesses, user activity and referrals, as well as how OpenAI handles verification and sponsored agents in practice. Any later financial disclosures or company statements could also clarify the reported revenue and losses. Until then, the confirmed development is the beta launch; the scale of its commercial impact remains unknown.
Key Questions
What did OpenAI launch?
OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on Nov. 10, 2026. It includes a Business Hub for claiming and updating profiles, plus Business Agents for eligible businesses to answer product questions in separate conversations.
Can businesses pay to appear in ChatGPT?
OpenAI says businesses can sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT ads. The company says sponsored placements will be labeled. The beta also offers profile and product-feed tools; OpenAI has not said that claiming a profile alone guarantees placement in answers.
Has OpenAI confirmed $10 billion in third-quarter revenue?
No. The Information reported revenue of about $10 billion, and Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth from the prior quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. OpenAI has not published financial statements confirming the figures.
What is known about the Odessia acquisition?
Founder Francis Davidson announced that OpenAI acquired the AI travel-agent startup and that he is joining OpenAI. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Davidson’s hire to TechCrunch. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Who can use Business Agents at launch?
OpenAI says the feature is initially available to eligible U.S. e-commerce and online-service businesses. The company has not announced a broader rollout timetable.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
