OpenAI has launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta. It gives companies a way to claim a profile and manage what ChatGPT says about them, in front of the 1.2 billion people who use it each week.

Profiles are managed through Business Hub, a new dashboard in the ChatGPT sidebar.

Any eligible business in a market where ChatGPT operates can claim a profile, and that includes the UK.

Ownership can be verified by phone, business email, website domain or a connected Shopify store. There’s also an identity check with Persona to pass before a business can publish changes or view insights.

After that, businesses can update their website, description, products and services. Retailers can also upload product feeds with pricing and availability for ChatGPT to use when it answers product questions.

Shopify merchants can connect from Business Hub or from the Shopify admin. Eligible Shopify products already appear in ChatGPT via Shopify Catalog.

Insights include mentions, website clicks and “discovery topics”, which are the recurring themes in conversations where a brand’s website is cited. Everything is aggregated. Businesses don’t get to see individual conversations.

Business Hub is free while it’s in beta. OpenAI describes the launch as “an early step in bringing businesses more deeply into ChatGPT” and plans to roll it out to more markets and business categories. It hasn’t said when.

OpenAI has also launched Business Agents, branded assistants that answer shopper questions inside ChatGPT and can be sponsored as a ChatGPT Ads destination. They’re only open to eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses for now.