OpenAI launches verified Business Agents in ChatGPT beta

OpenAI has launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, giving companies a verified presence inside the chatbot and, for eligible businesses, the ability to launch AI-powered Business Agents.

The feature is available first to eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the US. Users can start talking with a Business Agent if a business that has created one appears in a response from ChatGPT. While chatting with a custom agent, users can ask about a business’s offerings and ask follow-up questions, such as differences between two products.

Businesses can specify a Business Agent’s instructions and provide business context so that the agent knows how to respond. Chats with Business Agents will be clearly labeled and separate from the user’s main ChatGPT conversation, OpenAI says.

To help people know they are talking with an agent that actually represents the business, companies can claim their organization and get verified through a feature called Business Hub. OpenAI is not sharing specifics about its verification methods because there are different methods for different businesses, VP of monetization Benji Shomair said in a press briefing.

Business Hub will also let companies see insights such as mentions in ChatGPT responses and top “discovery topics” where their business pops up. OpenAI said the insights are aggregated and appear only when conversations or interactions meet certain thresholds. The company withholds users’ conversations and agent chats from businesses.

Businesses can sponsor their agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements are labeled and separate from ChatGPT responses.

Any eligible business located where ChatGPT is available can claim a profile. Enterprise customers and advertisers can work with their OpenAI representative, and Shopify merchants can connect their store from Business Hub or the Shopify admin.

OpenAI plans to extend Businesses in ChatGPT and Business Agents to more markets and business categories and to build tools for organizations with more complex needs, the company said.

The launch follows earlier moves toward business-facing features. In September, OpenAI announced a test of Sponsored Agents, which let users who tap an ad open a dialogue with an AI agent backed by the advertiser. The test involved select US advertisers. In October, OpenAI expanded ChatGPT ads to 89 countries and said more than 100,000 advertisers had launched campaigns. OpenAI retired an earlier ChatGPT shopping effort in March, according to TechCrunch. That effort used commission fees and included a checkout cart.

OpenAI said 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week.

“Today’s announcement is an early step in bringing businesses more deeply into ChatGPT,” OpenAI says in a blog post. “We’re starting with the foundations: accurate business information, useful insights and conversations that help people make informed decisions.”

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.