"Google Business Profile all over again": OpenAI lets every business claim its listing inside ChatGPT

"This is Google Business Profile all over again. The ones who set it up early got tens of thousands of customers for years," marketer @shiri_shh posted on Nov. 10, collecting more than 3,000 likes. The trigger was OpenAI's beta launch of Businesses in ChatGPT, announced in a post with more than 15,000 likes and 4.1 million views.

Through a new Business Hub, companies can claim their business in ChatGPT and, once verified, fix their details and upload product feeds with current prices and availability. The hub reports aggregated counts of how often ChatGPT mentions the business, how many people click through to its site and which conversation topics cite it. OpenAI says businesses never see users' chats. Any eligible business where ChatGPT is available can claim a listing, while Business Agents, branded assistants that answer customer questions, are open first to US e-commerce and online service businesses. Shopify merchants can connect straight from their admin.

There is a paid on-ramp too: OpenAI says businesses can sponsor their agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. PPC Land noted the free listing ties directly into OpenAI's ad business. OpenAI pitched the program as a way to reach 1.2 billion weekly ChatGPT users.

Greg Isenberg called it "the google my business moment for ai" and said "your product feed is your new seo" in a post with 3,700 likes, but flagged that the dashboard hides the prompts and competitors behind each mention. One early dashboard shared on launch day showed 690 mentions and 24 clicks over 28 days. Another user complained that changing a single detail requires uploading a driver's license or passport.