OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a new kind of platform connecting businesses and consumers, directly challenging Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) dominance in commercial information search.

On Tuesday, OpenAI announced the beta launch of "Businesses in ChatGPT," allowing companies to claim and manage their business profiles on ChatGPT, track user engagement data, and communicate directly with potential customers through dedicated AI agents.

The product suite includes two core tools: the "Business Hub," which lets businesses manage information and view analytics, and "Business Agents," which allows users to interact directly with a company's AI customer service.

The latter is currently available only to eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the United States. Companies can also run sponsored ads for their Business Agent, which serve as landing pages for ChatGPT advertising, with sponsored content clearly labeled.

Feature design mirrors Google's business ecosystem

The core functions of Business Hub closely resemble Google Business Profile.

After completing verification, businesses can update key information, upload product catalogs including pricing and inventory, and access aggregated analytics covering mentions, profile views, website clicks, and trending discovery topics. This design has drawn comparisons to Google Analytics.

On the onboarding front, OpenAI offers differentiated paths for different types of businesses:

Existing OpenAI enterprise customers and advertisers can work through dedicated account managers;

Shopify merchants can link their stores directly from Business Hub or the Shopify back end, with eligible products already integrated into ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog.

On data privacy, OpenAI said it will not share specific user conversation content or Business Agent chat records with businesses. All analytics data is aggregated and can only be viewed after interaction volume reaches a certain threshold.

AI agents reshape the user purchasing decision path

The launch of Business Agents represents a leap in ChatGPT's capabilities in commercial scenarios.

When a business appears in a model response, users can click through to that company's ChatGPT profile and choose to start a conversation with its Business Agent to ask in-depth questions about product differences, feature matching, and other specific matters.

This interaction model aims to fill the information gap consumers face before making a purchase decision. For example, when a user compares two products, the Business Agent can provide personalized feature comparisons and recommendations based on the company's own information.

OpenAI stressed that Business Agent conversations will be clearly labeled and strictly separated from ChatGPT's original chat interface, to distinguish them from ChatGPT's independent answers.

OpenAI Vice President Benji Shomair said business verification will use multiple methods, differing by market and type of business, but did not disclose specific process details.

Strategic pivot after e-commerce direct-purchase attempt falters

The launch of business profiles marks an important strategic adjustment by OpenAI in the e-commerce space.

The company had previously tried to turn ChatGPT into an e-commerce platform for direct shopping, even introducing a shopping cart feature and adopting a commission-sharing model, which was once seen as an important card in competing head-on with Amazon. However, according to reports, the project failed to achieve expected growth and was officially terminated in March this year.

Compared with the previous direct transaction model, the new approach instead focuses on the distribution of commercial information and assistance with user decision-making, making it logically closer to the commercial advertising model of search engines.

OpenAI said it plans to expand Businesses in ChatGPT and Business Agents to more markets and business categories in the future, and build dedicated tools for businesses with more complex needs. Whether this path can deliver better commercial results than the previous e-commerce attempt remains to be seen by the market.