On November 10, OpenAI opened the beta for Businesses in ChatGPT. For the first time, brands can claim a profile inside ChatGPT, correct what it says about them, and see first-party data on how they show up in AI answers.
Most of the advice online stops at "go claim your business," but that's the easy part. The verified badge is nice, but the real value is in what you do with the profile and the data once you have them. Here's the playbook we're giving our clients.
First, what claiming does and doesn't do
OpenAI's own FAQ answers this directly. Claiming your business:
- Lets you update your business information in ChatGPT through Business Hub.
- Adds a blue check to your profile to show it's been claimed.
- Unlocks a Business Agent, if you're eligible.
- Gives you access to insights on how people engage with your business in ChatGPT.
What it doesn't do is just as important. In OpenAI's words: "ChatGPT continues to make independent recommendations and comparisons. Claiming does not guarantee higher placement or sales." Even the information you submit is something ChatGPT "may use" to answer questions, not something it's required to repeat.
So think of claiming as getting a seat at the table, not buying a better seat. You get more control over accuracy, plus visibility into data you couldn't see before. Your AI search strategy still has to earn the recommendations.
A few eligibility notes:
- Claiming is initially available to eligible businesses with a website, in markets where ChatGPT is offered. Eligibility depends on industry, location, and OpenAI's verification checks.
- You must own the business or be authorized to represent it. That means your agency or internal team can help manage the profile.
- You can claim your business at OpenAI's Businesses in ChatGPT page. It's separate from the ChatGPT Business subscription plan, which is easy to land on by mistake.
Step 1: Treat your profile like a source of truth
ChatGPT already talks about your business, whether or not you've claimed it. OpenAI says ChatGPT "may show information about your business whether or not you have an agent when customers ask relevant questions." Your profile is your chance to make sure that information is right.
- Fill out every field. Thin profiles leave ChatGPT to fill the gaps from wherever else it finds you.
- Match your website exactly. The job of ChatGPT after a prompt is given, is to go find as much information about a topic and/or entity as possible, and then bring back the consensus. So Brand information has to be consistent across the web, names, locations, services and policies should be identical across your profile, site and other listings. Conflicting information gives a model reasons to hedge.
- Assign an owner. Put profile updates on the same checklist as your Google Business Profile and website updates, so a price change or new service line doesn't leave ChatGPT out of date.
Step 2: Retailers, upload your product feed
If you sell products, this is the most practical step on the list. Retailers can upload a product feed with details, pricing and availability, so customers can understand what you offer right in ChatGPT.
- On Shopify? You can connect your store from your Shopify admin or from Business Hub, and product details, pricing and availability are shared automatically through Shopify's catalog.
- Not on Shopify? You can still claim your business and upload a feed directly.
Either way, treat the feed like your Google Merchant Center feed: keep it clean, complete and current. Out-of-date pricing in an AI answer is a fast way to lose a customer's trust.
Step 3: Learn to read your insights
This is the part we're most excited about: real data from ChatGPT itself, instead of estimates from third-party tools. Business Hub shows three signals:
| Metric | What it tells you | How to use it |
| Mentions | How often ChatGPT mentions your business | Your baseline AI visibility. Watch the trend, not the raw number. |
| Discovery topics | The conversation themes where your business appears | A window into how people actually find you, often phrased differently than your keywords. |
| Website clicks | How often people click through to your site from ChatGPT | Compare against mentions to see how often visibility turns into a visit. |
While a click is a valuable action a user can take, it is far from the only action a user can take after a brand appearance in ChatGPT. After collecting this data from ChatGPT, try to identify patterns in data from Google Search console or Google Analytics. Increased in mentions for a discovery topic, did conversions for the product aligned with that topic increase? Did you see an increase in branded queries in GSC, in association with the discovery topics you got impressions from?
Step 4: Know what the data won't tell you
This is a beta, and the insights are a starting point rather than a full picture. Before you build a report around them, keep the limits in mind:
- No share of voice. You see your own mentions, not how you compare with competitors. ContentGrip reports that share of voice isn't part of the initial beta.
- Privacy thresholds. Data is aggregated and only appears when interactions meet a minimum. Smaller businesses may see little or nothing at first.
- No transcripts. You won't see individual conversations, only themes.
- Clicks aren't conversions. A click shows interaction with a link, not a completed visit or a purchase. Your analytics still have to close the loop.
That's why we see Business Hub as one input alongside third-party AI visibility tracking, not a replacement for it. Business Hub tells you what happened for your brand. Third-party tools tell you how it compares to your competitors.
Step 5: Turn discovery topics into content strategy
Discovery topics are the most strategic data in Business Hub. They show the themes of conversations where ChatGPT brings you up, which is something keyword tools can only guess at. Here's how to put them to work:
- Map topics to your keyword strategy. Line up your discovery topics against the keywords you target in organic search. Overlap confirms what's working. The gaps are where you should look closer.
- Find topics you don't have content for. If ChatGPT brings you up in a conversation theme your site barely covers, that's a page worth building. Give the model something better to cite.
- Spot topics you want but don't have. If a core service never appears in your discovery topics, that's a visibility gap to close with content, digital PR, and third-party mentions.
- Check again monthly. Topics will shift as your content, your competitors and ChatGPT itself change. Treat this like a recurring audit, not a one-time look.
Step 6: Decide whether a Business Agent makes sense
Business Agents let customers chat with your business inside ChatGPT, using product and policy information and guidelines you control. They're currently available to eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses, with OpenAI planning to expand to more business types over time.
Before you publish one, ask:
- Is your product and policy information airtight? The agent answers from what you give it. Gaps and outdated details show up in front of customers.
- Who owns it? An agent needs someone reviewing its answers and updating its guidelines, just like your chat support.
- Does paid media fit in? Business Agents can also be sponsored as the landing spot for ChatGPT ads. If you're testing ChatGPT ads, an agent may be part of that plan.
OpenAI lets you preview and test your agent before it goes live. Use that step, and test it with the hard questions customers actually ask.
If you do decide to publish a business agent, reviewing these conversations can be a source of information for you on what types of questions with common themes are being asked about your business.
What's next: we're tracking the data
Business Hub is the first real look at ChatGPT data from the source, and we're watching it closely. We're helping our clients claim and set up their profiles now, and we'll be tracking what Business Hub shows across brands and industries over the coming weeks.
We'll publish what we learn: how mentions turn into clicks, how discovery topics compare with traditional keyword data, and whether claiming a profile changes anything over time.
Want help setting up your profile or building an AI search strategy around the data? Let's talk.
