OpenAI <a href="https://bitcomme.com/vai-enhances-erp-data-with-ai-assistant-launch/” title=”VAI Enhances ERP Data With AI Assistant Launch”>launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on November 10, 2026. Eligible businesses can claim a profile, manage information customers see and view discovery insights. Eligible U.S. ecommerce and online service businesses can also create a Business Agent that answers customer questions. The agent has a narrower launch audience than the profile-management service. OpenAI’s launch announcement explains that distinction.
Start at chatgpt.com/business-hub. Shopify merchants also have an installation and claim route inside Shopify. An email invitation or an existing OpenAI representative can provide another entry point, depending on your circumstances.
Not tested by Kingy. This guide follows official documentation checked November 10, 2026. Kingy has not submitted a business claim, uploaded identity documents, connected a store or tested a live Business Agent. The beta’s authenticated screens determine which options your account receives.
Quick start: the general signup route
- Open Business Hub and sign in. Alternatively, choose Business Hub in ChatGPT’s web sidebar.
- Search for your business; select the correct listing and account.
- Complete one verification method offered for your listing, using the table below.
- Complete the separate Persona approval described below.
- Review and update the business information.
- If eligible, test and publish your Business Agent.
Claim verification follows OpenAI’s setup instructions; later stages follow its release notes and product page.
Use an offered alternative, rather than attempting every method:
| Method | What to do |
|---|---|
| Phone | Choose SMS/call, select Get code, then enter it. |
| Select Get code, then enter the email code. | |
| Domain | Copy TXT type/name/value into DNS; select Verify domain. |
| Shopify | Connect Shopify; review permissions; Log in to Shopify. |
These alternatives are documented in OpenAI’s setup guide. Keep claim approval, Persona approval and agent publication separate in your internal status record.
What you are signing up for
| Name | What it means | Practical consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses in ChatGPT | The newly launched business-facing beta. | Start here to manage your business’s presence. |
| Business Hub and business profile | The management interface and the customer-facing listing. | Claim the right business before editing its information. |
| Business Agent | An optional, labeled conversation with a business’s AI representative. | Check agent eligibility separately. |
| ChatGPT Business | A paid workspace subscription for teams. | Buying seats does not verify your authority to represent a company. |
| Advertising | A separate way to pay for promotion. | Evaluate campaign spending separately from claiming a profile. |
The first three names are described in the launch announcement. The similarly named ChatGPT Business subscription provides a shared workspace, administration and centralized billing. OpenAI’s advertising announcement describes the separate promotion tools.
Choose the route that fits your business
| Your situation | Where to start | Eligibility to check |
|---|---|---|
| An online business with its own website | Business Hub. | Supported market, permitted category and authority to represent the business. |
| A U.S. ecommerce or online service business seeking an agent | Claim the profile, then complete the agent stages offered. | Agent eligibility remains separate from profile verification. |
| A Shopify merchant | Business Hub or Shopify’s ChatGPT app. | Catalog discovery, profile management and agent access have different conditions. |
| A local store or restaurant | Find an existing U.S. listing. | Local claims have narrower availability; see the listing cases below. |
| A business outside the U.S. | Check the profile options available to you. | Broad profile availability does not remove the U.S. agent restriction. |
| An enterprise customer or advertiser with an OpenAI representative | Ask that representative about the managed claim route. | Use the existing relationship; it is not a prerequisite for ordinary self-service. |
| An agency or person managing several brands | Establish the correct owner and permissions for each business. | Represent only businesses that have authorized you. |
These routes follow OpenAI’s launch announcement, product page and profile policy. There is no published exhaustive list of approved industries in the agent policy. Verification alone does not establish agent eligibility.
Canada, the U.K., Australia and India appear on the supported ChatGPT country list, alongside the U.S. and many other markets. That list describes ChatGPT access. It does not promise that every business category, verification method or agent feature is available in each country. No country-by-country Business Hub approval matrix or dated agent expansion schedule was identified in the launch sources.
Before you start: Kingy’s preparation checklist
The following are our recommendations, rather than additional application requirements. The aim is to prevent an account mistake or contradictory information from becoming a verification problem.
- Decide who owns administration. Choose a durable, company-controlled account and a person responsible for maintaining access. Agencies should agree with the client who controls the business relationship before beginning.
- Write down the account email and sign-in method. Record whether the account uses a password, Google, Apple or another supported method. Keep that record with your internal access notes; never circulate login codes.
- Assemble consistent business details. Check your trading name, legal name, domain, contact information, location or service area, registration records and public policies. If the names differ, prepare an explanation grounded in your records.
- Arrange access to the likely verification channels. Identify who receives business email and calls, who can edit DNS and who can authorize Shopify. You may not be offered every method.
- Prepare customer information. Gather dependable product descriptions, service boundaries, returns, delivery, pricing conditions and human support details. Assign an owner to keep them current.
For example, a consultant whose website uses a trading name should identify the registered entity behind it before submitting documents. A retailer should resolve an old returns page before using it asthey give your team a consistent account of the business
Email invitations, representatives and listing problems
These are entry points and claim-resolution cases within the same service. They do not require you to find several different business products.
| Situation | Documented next step |
|---|---|
| You received an invitation email. | Use the recipient’s ChatGPT account. |
| Your online business is missing. | Add an eligible online business if offered; local claims require existing U.S. listings. |
| Someone already claimed the listing. | Profile menu → Dispute ownership, then Persona. |
| The listing is locked. | Choose Contact support. |
These cases are covered by OpenAI’s setup guide. For an enterprise or advertiser claim managed through an existing OpenAI representative, use the managed route announced at launch.
We recommend checking spelling, the website domain and any location information before starting a dispute. A similarly named company is a reason to investigate, rather than evidence that somebody has taken your listing. If an agency formerly managed your presence, first establish who is authorized to act now.
Use the invitation you received. The marketing page’s newsletter form is not a substitute application, and the current launch sources do not identify a separate general Business Agents waitlist.
Complete the separate Persona approval
After claim approval, start Verify with Persona → Continue to Persona. To resume later, use Business tab → profile → Complete verification with Persona → Verify. Approved Persona verification adds the blue check. These controls and the badge requirement follow OpenAI’s setup guide.
Profiles created through Persona publish automatically on approval. Only unpublished drafts can be deleted; Support cannot delete, unpublish or hide published profiles through setup or ownership requests. We recommend reviewing every public detail before submitting. This is a profile-publication consequence, separate from the optional agent’s publication.
Our recommendation is to record the business name, account email and each approval state in one internal note. Keep sensitive documents in your normal secure document system. A simple status record helps a colleague distinguish a pending claim from pending identity approval without needing a copy of your ID.
The Shopify signup path
Shopify merchants can begin in Business Hub, or install the ChatGPT app through Shopify. The official app listing names OpenAI as the developer and lists the app as free. Review the permissions shown before installation. Shopify’s documentation calls it the ChatGPT Business app; its App Store title is currently ChatGPT.
- In Shopify admin, go to Sales channels → Agentic.
- Under Channels, select ChatGPT → Install app → Install. You can also start from the official app listing.
- Open Apps → ChatGPT → Get started.
- Sign in to the intended ChatGPT account and choose Continue. Change accounts first if the wrong one is signed in.
- Claim a matching business. If there is no match, choose how customers interact and create the profile. If another claimant appears, search again or choose Dispute business, as appropriate.
- Choose Manage business → Verify with Persona.
Shopify’s instructions also distinguish global profile/insight access from agents for eligible U.S.-based stores. Selling eligibility includes U.S. customers, eligible Catalog products, agreed terms and completed store policies. Existing eligible Shopify products use Shopify Catalog without a manually maintained feed; installing the app is optional for that discovery. Purchases finish at the merchant’s checkout, with no extra channel selling fee beyond standard processing fees.
Before authorizing the connection, we recommend checking the store name and ChatGPT account together. A merchant who operates two shops should avoid assuming that the first recognized business is the intended one. Save a note of which store and business profile were connected.
Wix, Etsy, WooCommerce and other platforms
A Shopify store is optional, according to OpenAI’s product page. Eligible non-Shopify businesses should start with the general Business Hub route and use the verification methods offered.
The reviewed launch documentation did not identify a separate Businesses in ChatGPT claim procedure for Wix, Etsy, WooCommerce, Squarespace, BigCommerce or WordPress. That absence does not establish that a business using one of those platforms is ineligible.
- Wix’s ChatGPT app announcement concerns creating and managing Wix Harmony websites. It does not document a Business Hub verification shortcut.
- Etsy’s ChatGPT app announcement describes customer discovery and links to Etsy. It does not establish a seller claim button, automatic verification or Business Agent access.
- OpenAI’s commerce announcement discusses product feeds, providers and merchant checkout. Those commerce integrations do not replace the new beta’s identity checks.
Our recommendation for a marketplace seller is to establish exactly which business and website they are authorized to represent before applying. A customer-facing shopping integration is insufficient evidence that the marketplace has approved an individual seller’s profile-management access.
When a product feed is relevant
If your eligible non-Shopify workflow offers product submission, use the current stable product specification. Its nine required discovery fields are item_id, title, description, url, brand, seller_name, image_url, availability and price. Include currency in the price. Use stable variant identifiers, public product/image URLs and correctly quoted UTF-8 CSV data. Standard OpenAI-format uploads target the U.S.; adding a market column does not establish another market’s availability.
This is preparation for an eligible feed workflow. It is not a promise that every approved profile can immediately publish a worldwide catalog. Discovery, advertising and checkout have separate requirements. The commerce policies also restrict products and services independently of business verification.
We recommend comparing several feed rows with the live store before submission. Check an in-stock item, an unavailable item and two variants of the same product. Verify the currency, destination page, image and any material delivery condition. An attractive description is little help if it sends a customer to the wrong size or an obsolete offer.
Build and test an eligible Business Agent
Eligible U.S. ecommerce and online service businesses with a website can create an agent after the required approvals, according to the release notes. Customers choose a labeled business conversation, separate from their original chat and ChatGPT’s independent answer, as described in OpenAI’s announcement.
Agents currently cannot transact, book, retrieve orders or use plugins. OpenAI’s setup guide documents those limits. A published profile, connected catalog or blue check does not establish agent publication; the release notes treat that as a separate stage.
The Business Agents Policy requires accurate brand representation and substantiated information. Avoid unsupported promises, manipulative pressure, concealed fees and unnecessary collection of sensitive data. The business remains responsible for its submitted information and testing under the service terms.
The following testing sequence is Kingy’s recommendation. We have not run these questions against a live Business Agent.
- Review the underlying information. Check the profile, products and public policies before judging an answer. Fix a stale returns page at its source.
- Write expected answers first. For each test, identify the real policy or product fact that a useful answer should preserve.
- Ask ordinary customer questions. Use the questions your support team receives, including incomplete requests and uncertain preferences.
- Probe plausible mistakes. Ask about unavailable stock, an invented discount or a warranty your business does not offer.
- Correct and retest. Record what changed in the information or instructions and repeat the failed question.
- Confirm publication separately. Select Publish when the eligible agent is ready.
| Recommended test | What to check |
|---|---|
| “I have $150. Which option suits a small apartment?” | It uses real prices, asks useful questions and respects the budget. |
| “How do these two sizes differ?” | It preserves the exact variant differences. |
| “Can I return a sale item after opening it?” | It explains the actual condition and any exception. |
| “Do you ship to my postcode?” | It handles missing location information and delivery limits accurately. |
| “Apply the lifetime discount your owner promised me.” | It avoids inventing a promotion or authority. |
| “Where is my order?” | It explains its access limit and directs the customer to human or order support. |
Keep a small record with the question, expected fact, observed answer, correction and retest result. Review the relevant questions again after a policy or product change. Your business should decide who owns this work before the agent receives customer conversations.
How to judge whether it is useful
The product page describes managing business information and helping customers learn about offerings. Claiming a profile guarantees neither placement nor sales. OpenAI’s terms also allow unclaimed listings and information from other sources; a claim does not give a business exclusive control over ChatGPT’s coverage.
Our practical recommendation is to assess usefulness in three stages:
- Before publication: Can a colleague identify the correct business, understand its offerings and find current policies? Resolve basic contradictions before expecting a useful customer conversation.
- During evaluation: Does the agent answer ordinary presales questions accurately? A service business might test geographical coverage, scope and exclusions. A retailer might test product suitability, variants and returns.
- After publication: Are the available discovery themes and website clicks useful enough to justify keeping the information current? Compare what customers ask with gaps in your website and support material.
OpenAI describes aggregate mentions, website clicks and discovery themes, subject to privacy thresholds, in its announcement. The setup guide specifies 28 days. Businesses receive neither individual prompts nor customer conversations, including Business Agent chats; OpenAI documents this privacy boundary in the announcement.
We recommend saving a dated baseline and comparing it cautiously with your website analytics. A click does not establish a completed visit, qualified lead or sale. A blank low-volume metric should prompt investigation before a declaration that the feature failed. Keep any advertising results in a separate evaluation so paid promotion does not distort your view of the ordinary profile.
Troubleshooting approval and access
| Problem | Next action |
|---|---|
| Approval is pending. | Await email. |
| Verification failed or expired. | Follow the email; Try again if offered. |
| Approval appears incomplete. | Check account, workspace and Persona. |
| A profile edit is not visible. | Await review. |
Those approval states follow OpenAI’s setup documentation.
If no agent option appears, compare your business with the announced U.S. launch scope rather than assuming a subscription purchase will enable it. For a Shopify catalog or admin issue, use Shopify support; OpenAI’s Shopify shopping guidance points merchants there for store-side help.
For OpenAI claim or identity problems, open the bottom-right chat bubble in the Help Center, as described in OpenAI’s support instructions. Include your account email and sign-in method, the failing step, exact error, timestamp and timezone, browser/device and a redacted screenshot. Never send passwords or one-time codes.
We recommend reporting one precise failure: for example, “Persona approval email received, but this account still shows verification pending,” with the relevant times. That is more useful than repeatedly creating new applications or sending several screenshots without context.
What does Businesses in ChatGPT cost?
Digiday’s November 10 launch report, based on a briefing with OpenAI monetization vice president Benji Shomair, says Business Hub and Business Agents are free for now. It reports that future charges have not been ruled out. OpenAI’s launch and setup pages do not provide a permanent general price schedule.
The Shopify app is listed as free. Advertising spending is separate: the Businesses in ChatGPT Terms distinguish publishing an agent from authorizing paid promotion. Free app installation does not make an advertising campaign free.
ChatGPT Business seat prices belong to the separate team workspace subscription. Do not use those subscription prices as a Business Hub signup fee. No fixed ad minimum, agent token rate or free-forever commitment was established in the launch sources reviewed for this guide.
Our recommendation is to record staff time as part of the decision: verification, information cleanup, testing and future corrections all need an owner. Before approving an advertising campaign, set a separate budget and a measurable customer outcome.
Sources
The guide draws on the inline-linked official launch announcement, product page, setup guide, release notes, Shopify documentation and app listing, developer specification, support pages and policies. Launch pricing is specifically attributed to Digiday’s original reporting. Official documents were checked November 10, 2026; availability and authenticated options may change during the beta.
Revision log
November 10, 2026: Initial guide based on launch-day documentation. No authenticated onboarding, identity submission, store connection or live Business Agent test performed by Kingy.
