OpenAI has launched a beta version of Businesses in ChatGPT. Merchants can now claim their own homepage in ChatGPT.
The entrance is called Business Hub. After the company verifies its identity, it can change basic information such as name, category, address, business hours, and contact information. Those that pass verification will have a blue certification mark. Retailers can also receive a product data source with price and inventory, so that when users ask about related products, the model refers to the information maintained by the merchant itself. The easiest thing for Shopify merchants is to connect the store with just one click in the Business Hub or Shopify backend.
The second level is Business Agent. Merchants can use their own product information and after-sales policies to create an exclusive agent. When users see this company in the answers, they can chat directly with it by clicking on it, asking about parameters and comparing models. Such conversations will be marked separately and will not be mixed with ordinary chats. Currently it is only open to US e-commerce and online service companies.
The third level is money. Merchants can buy sponsored placements for their own robots, or set it as a landing page for advertisements. OpenAI says sponsored content will be clearly marked and not mixed with natural responses.
The data that merchants can see is summarized: how many times it has been mentioned, how many times the official website has been clicked, what are the most common topics in related conversations, and the amount of interaction must reach a certain threshold before it is unlocked. The user's chat content will not be given to the merchant.
It’s clear who this set of things is targeting, the business information system in Google Maps and Search. Google has relied on it to eat local advertising for more than ten years. ChatGPT has a weekly activity of 1.2 billion. When users ask "Which store nearby is good?" and "Which of these two is worth buying?", who appears in the answer. Originally, the model had the final say, but now there is an additional way to spend money.
For those who are engaged in independent websites and cross-border e-commerce, it is recommended to claim the homepage as early as possible. There is no money to claim it, but it will be troublesome if others rush to register the category words too late.