OpenAI tests Business in ChatGPT, allowing merchants to create profiles and business agents

On November 10, 2026, OpenAI launched a test feature called Business in ChatGPT. Businesses can create business profiles in Business Hub and update information about their products and services. Eligible businesses can also create dedicated business agents that ChatGPT users can ask questions directly to learn about the businesses and their products.

This feature gives businesses a new way to present their information in ChatGPT, while giving users the opportunity to learn about businesses through conversation. It involves more than a change in where information is displayed; it also raises questions about how businesses organize information, how users find answers, and whether the conversational experience can better connect with purchase decisions.

However, creating a business profile and an agent does not mean that a business has complete online transaction capabilities. The information currently available mainly concerns business information management and user Q&A. How transactions will be completed remains to be explained in future feature announcements.

From Business Profiles to Conversational Discovery

Business Hub’s immediate purpose is to give businesses a place to create profiles and update product and service information. Businesses can use it to maintain the information they want to show users; for users, this information may provide a starting point for learning about a business.

Dedicated business agents add another way to interact. Users can ask questions about a business or its products instead of simply viewing a fixed list of information. The value of this format is that it lets users learn about a business based on their own questions. Whether they receive clear, relevant answers depends on the information businesses provide and how the agents perform in practice.

The two steps are directly connected: profiles and product information provide the foundation for presenting a business, while Q&A offers an opportunity to present that information in a way that is more closely aligned with users’ questions. As a result, the accuracy of the information and whether updates are reflected in answers will be key factors in evaluating the feature. The information currently available does not explain the specific update mechanisms or answer rules.

At the same time, not every business that creates a profile will necessarily be able to create a dedicated business agent. The published feature description limits agent creation to eligible businesses, and the specific eligibility criteria and coverage remain to be clarified.

The Gap Between Commercial Discovery and Transactions

The test signals that ChatGPT is exploring ways to support more discovery related to businesses and products. Once users can learn about businesses through conversation, the way businesses present information may affect whether users can find what they need and whether they want to learn more about a product or service.

For businesses, the first areas that may be affected are the presentation and maintenance of business information. Product or service descriptions need to clearly address users’ questions to give agents a more useful information base. If information changes, businesses will also need to consider how those updates are reflected in the answers users see. The focus is on how information connects with Q&A, not simply on creating a profile.

For users, a conversational format may reduce the steps involved in searching for information one item at a time. However, the experience still depends on whether answers are accurate and specific enough, and whether users can understand how the answers relate to the business information. An agent’s ability to answer questions does not automatically mean it can handle purchases, payments, or after-sales service.

Over the longer term, if business information, user Q&A, and subsequent consumption can be effectively connected, ChatGPT’s role as a consumer discovery channel may grow. The extent to which it could develop into a commercial transaction platform will depend on the features made available in the future and how they are used in practice. The current test alone does not establish that transaction capabilities are in place.

Specific questions to watch include how eligibility for business agents will be defined, how product and service information will be updated, and which business needs users will be able to address through conversations with agents. These details will directly affect the range of businesses able to participate and how users make use of the answers.