Guide

ChatGPT Business Agents: what they do, who can use them and how to set one up

A Business Agent is a custom assistant for your brand that answers shopper questions inside ChatGPT. For now only eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses can publish one. Here is what it does, what it does not do, and how to set it up.

Locus Intelligence team
Updated 9 min readVisibility · Engage

Key takeaways

  • A Business Agent is a brand assistant inside ChatGPT, set up from your claimed Business Hub profile. Businesses in ChatGPT launched in beta on November 10, 2026.
  • For now it is limited to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the US. Local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing US listing.
  • It explains your products and policies and links to your website. It cannot complete purchases, make bookings or check orders.
  • You need a claimed profile, an approved Persona identity check and a website. OpenAI also considers your category and intended use, and its policy applies at creation and on every update.
  • Businesses can sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements are clearly labeled and kept separate from responses.
  • A Business Agent lives in ChatGPT. Your own website chat, WhatsApp and phone still need their own answers.

What is a ChatGPT Business Agent?

A Business Agent is a custom assistant that speaks for one business inside ChatGPT. It is part of Businesses in ChatGPT, the beta program OpenAI announced on November 10, 2026. Through Business Hub, businesses can claim their business, manage its information and see insights (OpenAI's announcement). If you are new to the program, start with our pillar guide to businesses in ChatGPT.

When your business appears in a ChatGPT response, people can click to see its ChatGPT profile and, if you have an agent, start a conversation with it. That conversation is clearly labeled and kept separate from the original conversation and from ChatGPT's independent answers (OpenAI's announcement). OpenAI does not list a fee to claim your business. Advertising is separate and paid.

Beta: details may change

Businesses in ChatGPT is a beta. Eligibility, screens and rules described here were checked on November 11, 2026 against OpenAI's own pages. Check OpenAI's help article for the current process.

Who is eligible for a Business Agent?

OpenAI says Business Agents start "with eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the U.S." (OpenAI's announcement). You also need a website and must meet any industry requirements in the Business Agents Policy (OpenAI's help article). In practice that means:

  • US ecommerce and online service businesses with a website can apply.
  • Local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing US listing (OpenAI's help article), and are outside the current agent eligibility group.
  • Category and intended use are reviewed. OpenAI may decline or defer a category, and "Business verification alone does not guarantee agent eligibility" (OpenAI's Business Agents Policy).
  • Outside the US, any eligible business located where ChatGPT is available can claim its business, and OpenAI plans to expand to more markets and business categories, with no timeline given (OpenAI's announcement). See is ChatGPT Business Hub available in India.
Can you publish a Business Agent today?
  1. Have you claimed your profile in ChatGPT Business Hub?
    No
    Claim it first. Follow the claim guide.
    Yes
  2. Has your Persona identity check been approved?
    No
    Finish verification with Persona. You cannot create an agent while verification is pending or failed.
    Yes
  3. Are you a US ecommerce or online service business with a website?
    No
    Not yet. Keep your profile and listings accurate and watch for wider eligibility.
    Yes
  4. Is your category open and your intended use within policy?
    No
    Wait. OpenAI may decline or defer some categories.
    Yes
    You can create, preview and publish an agent.

Based on OpenAI's published eligibility at launch. OpenAI considers each business's category and intended use.

What a Business Agent can and cannot do

The agent is a pre-sale helper. It explains your products and policies and links to your website. It cannot complete purchases, make bookings or check orders (OpenAI's help article).

TaskBusiness Agent at launchWhere it happens instead
Answer product questionsYes, pre-sale
Answer policy questions (delivery, returns)Yes
Link to your websiteYes
Complete a purchaseNoYour website checkout
Take a booking or appointmentNoYour booking page, phone or front desk
Look up an existing orderNoYour site, support team or order tracking
Share chats with youNoOpenAI does not share Business Agent chats with businesses

Per OpenAI's help article and announcement, November 2026.

The last row matters for planning. OpenAI says: "We don't share users' conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses" (OpenAI's announcement). You get aggregated Business Hub Insights, not transcripts.

Product answers are only as good as your data. Once verified, you can add a product feed with pricing and availability by connecting a Shopify feed, uploading a CSV that follows OpenAI's product feed specification, or using a hosted URL. A feed alone does not publish an agent or guarantee recommendations (OpenAI's help article).

How to set up a ChatGPT Business Agent, step by step

These steps assume your profile is already claimed and your Persona check is approved. Labels can change during the beta.

  1. Confirm your profile is ready

    Your claim must be approved and your Persona check passed. The blue check appears after Persona approval, and you cannot create an agent while verification is pending or failed (OpenAI's help article).

  2. Open your business in the Business tab

    Open your business from the Business tab. If you connected Shopify, setup may already have created a draft agent.

  3. Review your business information

    Check product details, return policy and the rest of your profile. OpenAI reviews and publishes profile changes, and updates take time to appear.

  4. Write instructions

    Write instructions that follow the Business Agents Policy: what the agent should help with, the tone to use, and where to send people for checkout, orders and anything it cannot answer.

  5. Preview

    Ask it the questions real shoppers ask, including tricky ones about returns, shipping and price. Fix your instructions or profile where answers are wrong.

  6. Publish

    Publish the agent. Customers can only chat with a published agent. The policy applies on creation and on every update, and OpenAI can suspend or remove an agent.

From claimed profile to live agent
  1. 01ClaimBusiness Hub profile
  2. 02VerifyPersona check
  3. 03Review infoProducts, policies
  4. 04InstructionsScope and handoffs
  5. 05PreviewTest real questions
  6. 06PublishPolicy applies
TemplateStarter instructions for your agent
You are the shopping assistant for [Brand], an AI assistant representing the business.
Help people choose between our products and answer questions about delivery and returns.
Use only facts from our profile, product feed and website.
If you do not know, say so and link to [support page].
For purchases, send people to [product or checkout page].
For order status, send people to [order tracking page].
Do not promise discounts, delivery dates or stock that are not listed.
Do not ask for payment details, health details or other sensitive information.

Adapt it to your business. Keep it inside the policy rules below.

Policy rules for Business Agents and Sponsored Agents

The rules are set out in OpenAI's Business Agents Policy. They apply when you create an agent and on every update, and OpenAI may suspend or remove an agent, limit features or restrict a business that breaks them. Key rules:

Before you publish, check the agent does not break these

Honesty
Conduct
Safety
Ownership

Sponsored Agents: your agent as an ad destination

Businesses can sponsor their Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements are clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT's responses (OpenAI's announcement). OpenAI does not list a fee to claim a business, and you do not need an Ads account or a ChatGPT Enterprise agreement to claim one (OpenAI's help article). Advertising is separate and paid.

An agent does not buy you recommendations

OpenAI says "ChatGPT continues to make independent recommendations and comparisons. Claiming does not guarantee higher placement or sales." (OpenAI's Businesses in ChatGPT page) It adds that "Advertising doesn't influence ChatGPT's independent answers." (OpenAI's help article) More in does claiming improve recommendations.

Business Agent vs your own website chat or AI receptionist

A Business Agent helps people who are already in ChatGPT. It does not answer on your website, WhatsApp or phone, and it does not book or look up orders. Those conversations still need their own answers, often from website chat or an AI receptionist.

ChatGPT Business AgentYour own website chat or AI receptionist
Where it answersInside ChatGPTYour channels: website, and often WhatsApp or phone
Who can use it nowEligible US ecommerce and online service businessesAny business that sets one up
Bookings and ordersNo, it links to your websiteDepends on the tool you choose
Conversation recordsNot shared with businessesDepends on the tool you choose
Whose rules applyOpenAI's policy, on creation and each updateYours

Business Agent rows per OpenAI's pages, November 2026.

They are not either-or. If you are eligible, publish the agent for ChatGPT shoppers, and keep the answers on your own channels consistent with it. Desk by Locus Intelligence answers customers on your own site, WhatsApp and phone.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Expecting the agent to take orders or bookings

    Instead: It explains products and policies and links to your site. Keep checkout and booking on your own pages.

  • Publishing before the profile is right

    Instead: Fix product details and return policy first. The agent draws on them.

  • Writing promises into the instructions

    Instead: No invented offers, prices or urgency. OpenAI can suspend or remove the agent.

  • Assuming local stores qualify

    Instead: Agents are currently for eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses. Local stores should focus on accurate listings instead.

  • Treating the agent as a ranking lever

    Instead: It does not change independent recommendations. Track whether ChatGPT names you separately.

  • Skipping the preview

    Instead: Test real shopper questions before publishing and after every profile change.

Visibility by Locus IntelligenceSee whether ChatGPT actually names you

An agent helps people who reach you. Visibility by Locus Intelligence tracks whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overviews and Copilot name your business for real customer questions, who is named instead, and what to fix.

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Your next steps

Today

  1. Check whether you fit the launch criteria: US, ecommerce or online service, with a website.
  2. Open Business Hub and see whether your profile is claimed. If not, follow the claim guide.

This week

  1. Complete the Persona identity check.
  2. Update product details, return policy and the rest of your profile.
  3. Draft agent instructions from the template above.

This month

  1. Preview, publish and recheck the agent after every profile change.
  2. Review Business Hub Insights once data passes the reporting threshold.
  3. Run the free AI visibility checker to see whether ChatGPT names you.

Frequently asked questions

What is a ChatGPT Business Agent?

A custom assistant for one business inside ChatGPT. It explains the business's products and policies and links to its website. See the glossary entry.

Who can create a Business Agent?

For now, eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the US with a website, a claimed profile and an approved Persona identity check. OpenAI also considers business category and intended use.

Can a local store or restaurant publish a Business Agent?

Not at launch. Business Agents start with eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses, and local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing US listing.

Can a Business Agent take orders or bookings?

No. It cannot complete purchases, make bookings or check orders. It explains products and policies and links people to your website.

Is a Business Agent free?

OpenAI does not list a fee to claim a business, and you do not need an Ads account or a ChatGPT Enterprise agreement to claim one. Advertising, including sponsoring your agent, is separate and paid. See is ChatGPT Business Hub free.

Can I read the chats people have with my agent?

No. OpenAI says it does not share users' conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses. You see aggregated Insights in Business Hub instead.

Does a Business Agent improve my recommendations?

No. OpenAI says ChatGPT continues to make independent recommendations and comparisons, and that advertising does not influence its independent answers.

What are Sponsored Agents?

A business can sponsor its Business Agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads. Sponsored placements are clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT's responses.

Can an agency set up our agent?

Yes. OpenAI's help article says the admin who claimed the business can grant an agency access to manage the business or its agent, with each person using their own ChatGPT account. See can an agency manage ChatGPT Business Hub.

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