OpenAI launches Businesses in ChatGPT, showing brands their mentions and website clicks

OpenAI has rolled out Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, a dedicated space for companies inside ChatGPT. Through the Business Hub, a brand can claim its own profile, manage the information it keeps on the platform and track numbers for mentions, profile views and clicks that send people from ChatGPT to its website.

The launch was covered in detail by Search Engine Roundtable in a story published on November 10, after the site had reported on Monday that the feature was on its way. In its announcement, OpenAI says the product gives businesses "a new way to connect with the 1.2 billion people who use ChatGPT every week."

What the dashboard shows

The metrics include the "number of mentions and website clicks a business receives," in OpenAI's words. There are also discovery topics, the common subjects in conversations where the company's website is cited. According to OpenAI, "this data can help businesses understand how they are being represented and find opportunities to improve the information they share."

The dashboard itself puts limits on how the click data should be read. The note attached to the metric says: "Number of clicks recorded on links to your website in ChatGPT. Clicks do not confirm site visits or conversions."

How to claim a profile

A business searches for its own name in the tool and confirms ownership through a text message or a call to its main business phone number, or through DNS verification. OpenAI says this creates "a new way for businesses to provide information to ChatGPT, helping people explore products and services with the most accurate and up-to-date details."

Barry Schwartz, the site's executive editor, verified through DNS and said he worries that business profiles could be hijacked by third parties on the platform.

Agents that talk on behalf of the business

The Business Hub also lets companies turn on a Business Agent. With it, a customer can open a conversation with the business to learn what it offers and ask follow-up questions. In OpenAI's example, someone comparing two products can ask how the options differ and which features fit their needs, and the agent helps using the company's own information.

Business Agents are starting with eligible ecommerce and online services businesses in the United States.

For brand teams, ChatGPT now offers an official channel to update company information and a first measure of mentions and clicks coming from its answers. Discovery topics show which conversations already cite the website. The click data, as the dashboard itself warns, does not confirm a visit or a conversion.