🔍 Read the full analysis: OpenAI’s Business Profile Plans Meet A Reported $10B Quarter on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
OpenAI launched a beta on Nov. 10 that lets businesses claim profiles in ChatGPT, add product information and view aggregated engagement insights. Separately, reports put the company’s third-quarter revenue at about $10 billion and operating losses at $10.9 billion; the figures have not been published in financial statements.
OpenAI began testing business profiles and AI agents in ChatGPT on Nov. 10, giving eligible companies ways to update business and product information and see aggregated engagement data as the chatbot becomes a more direct channel for product discovery. On the same day, media reports put OpenAI’s third-quarter revenue at about $10 billion, alongside reported operating losses of $10.9 billion.
OpenAI’s beta, called Businesses in ChatGPT, includes a Business Hub where companies can claim and verify a listing, update details and add product feeds with prices and availability. According to OpenAI information reported by Reuters, The Verge and TechCrunch, the Hub can show aggregated mentions, profile views, website clicks and discovery topics. The company has not publicly detailed the full verification process.
A second feature, Business Agents, lets eligible US e-commerce and online service businesses offer a separate ChatGPT conversation about their products or services. Businesses provide the agent’s instructions and information. OpenAI says these chats are labeled and kept apart from the user’s main conversation. A business can also sponsor its agent as a destination for ChatGPT Ads, with sponsored placements labeled.
The financial figures are from media reports, not published company accounts. The Information first reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion; Bloomberg reported growth of nearly 50% from the previous quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters, put operating losses at $10.9 billion for the quarter. OpenAI has not released financial statements confirming those figures.
Business profiles meet reported $10B quarter
OpenAI is testing business profiles and agents in ChatGPT as reports put its third-quarter revenue near $10 billion. The financial figures remain unconfirmed by published company statements.
What businesses can do
The beta gives companies tools to manage information and offer product conversations in ChatGPT.
Manage a profile
Claim and verify a listing, update business details, and add product prices and availability.
Offer product chats
Eligible US e-commerce and online service businesses can provide a separate, labeled conversation.
See aggregated activity
Businesses can view mentions, profile views, website clicks, and discovery topics after activity passes thresholds.
How businesses can participate
Access routes depend on the business and its existing tools.
Existing Enterprise customers and advertisers can go through an OpenAI representative.
Shopify merchants can connect through Business Hub or Shopify administration tools.
Eligible US businesses can offer a separate product or service conversation.
What is known—and still open
The beta links product discovery with business profiles and paid promotion, while key details remain unspecified.
- Agent chats and sponsored placements are labeled.
- User conversations are not shared with businesses.
- Profiles do not guarantee inclusion in answers.
- Full verification criteria and data thresholds.
- How business information affects recommendations.
- Expansion plans and wider availability timing.
A New Route Into ChatGPT
The launch gives businesses a way to manage how their information appears when users ask ChatGPT for recommendations, comparisons or product details. A current profile and structured product feed could help the system draw on business-supplied facts, while the Hub’s aggregated measures offer companies a view of how often they are surfaced. OpenAI has not said that profiles guarantee inclusion or favorable placement in answers.
For advertisers and merchants, the features also join discovery, product questions and paid promotion within one service. That could make ChatGPT more commercially useful to businesses, while increasing the importance of accurate prices and availability. The reported revenue and loss figures underline the scale of the business OpenAI is building, but they do not establish how much the new features will contribute financially.
Users will need to distinguish between ordinary ChatGPT responses and conversations with business agents or sponsored placements. OpenAI says agent chats are labeled and that it does not share users’ conversations with businesses. The company also says insights are shown only after activity passes certain thresholds, limiting what businesses can infer from the data.
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From Profiles to Product Feeds
OpenAI described the beta as an early step toward bringing businesses into ChatGPT, beginning with accurate business information, insights and conversations intended to help users make informed decisions. Existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can claim a business through their OpenAI representative, according to the source material. Shopify merchants can connect stores through Business Hub or Shopify’s administration tools.
The move follows an earlier attempt to make ChatGPT a shopping destination with direct checkout and a commission model. TechCrunch reported that the effort did not gain traction and was retired in March. The new beta instead focuses on business-managed profiles, product feeds and agent conversations; the supplied information does not indicate that it restores direct checkout.
OpenAI had already established an advertising business. In August, the company said ChatGPT Ads had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate. That was a company-reported rate, not the same measure as quarterly revenue. Business Agents’ potential role as an ad destination connects the new business tools to that existing paid channel.
Verification, Data and Financials
Several parts of the launch remain unspecified. OpenAI has not explained the complete verification criteria, how businesses will qualify for Business Agents beyond the stated US eligibility, or whether the beta will expand to other markets. It has also not disclosed how profile and product information may affect which businesses appear in ChatGPT answers.
The company says it does not share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses, and that business insights appear only after activity exceeds thresholds. The precise thresholds and the detailed reporting limits are not stated in the supplied material. It is also unclear how sponsored agents will appear alongside other recommendations beyond OpenAI’s statement that sponsored placements are labeled.
The reported revenue, quarter-on-quarter growth and operating losses remain unconfirmed by published financial statements. OpenAI’s CFO Sarah Friar discussed the quarter in an interview with Yahoo Finance, but the source material does not provide a transcript or further figures from that interview. The terms of the reported Odessia acquisition were not disclosed; founder Francis Davidson said he was joining OpenAI, and an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed his hiring to TechCrunch.
What the Beta May Reveal
Businesses can begin claiming profiles through the available Business Hub routes, while eligible US companies can explore Business Agents. The next useful indicators will be whether OpenAI broadens access, publishes clearer verification rules and provides more detail on how product feeds and business data are used in ChatGPT responses.
For users and businesses, the beta’s practical effects will depend on how many companies join and how the tools perform beyond the initial launch. OpenAI has not announced a timetable for wider availability. The financial picture also remains subject to further reporting or company disclosure; the figures cited for the quarter should continue to be treated as reported estimates until OpenAI publishes confirmed results.
Key Questions
What did OpenAI launch on Nov. 10?
OpenAI began a beta called Businesses in ChatGPT. It includes a Business Hub for claiming and updating profiles, adding product feeds and viewing aggregated engagement insights, along with Business Agents for eligible US e-commerce and online service businesses.
Can businesses pay to appear in ChatGPT?
Businesses can sponsor their Business Agent as a destination for ChatGPT Ads, according to the launch details. OpenAI says sponsored placements are labeled. The supplied information does not say that claiming a profile guarantees placement in regular ChatGPT answers.
Did OpenAI confirm $10 billion in third-quarter revenue?
No. The figure was reported by The Information, while Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth from the prior quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. OpenAI has not published financial statements confirming the reported revenue or the reported $10.9 billion operating loss.
What information can businesses see about ChatGPT users?
OpenAI says businesses receive aggregated insights such as mentions, profile views and website clicks, and that data is shown only after activity passes certain thresholds. The company also says it does not share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses; exact reporting thresholds have not been disclosed.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
