A homeowner outside Brainerd needs a new furnace before the snow flies. Five years ago she would have typed “furnace replacement near me” into Google and clicked through a few websites. Today there is a growing chance she opens ChatGPT instead and asks who she should call. ChatGPT answers with real business names, and a new ChatGPT business profile now lets you manage what it says about yours.
That option arrived on November 10, 2026, when OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT, a beta program built around a tool called Business Hub. If you run a service business, a contracting company, or a shop anywhere in the Upper Midwest, it is worth a half hour of your attention. Here is what it is, why we think you should claim yours soon, and how to do it.
In this guide:
- What Is a ChatGPT Business Profile?
- Why Claim Yours Now?
- How to Claim Your ChatGPT Business Profile
- What About Ads in ChatGPT?
- What About Business Agents?
- Rather Have Your ChatGPT Business Profile Handled for You?
What Is a ChatGPT Business Profile?
A ChatGPT business profile is a verified listing inside ChatGPT that lets you manage the information it shows about your company: your name, description, services, website, and contact details. You claim it for free through OpenAI’s Business Hub by finding your business, verifying that you own or represent it, and reviewing the details. Once claimed and verified, you also get insights on how often ChatGPT mentions your business and sends people to your website.
If that sounds a lot like claiming your Google Business Profile, you have the right idea. It is the same move on a newer channel.
And the channel is real. Millions of people now use ChatGPT to research companies, compare services, and find local providers. Instead of typing a few keywords into a search bar, they ask full questions:
- Who is the best HVAC company near Bemidji?
- Can you recommend a reliable roofing contractor in Fargo?
- Who installs septic systems in the Brainerd lakes area?
- Which company should I call about a kitchen remodel?
ChatGPT has been answering questions like these all along, using whatever information it could find online. Business Hub is the first official way to put your own information into that mix. Retailers can go a step further and submit product feeds with pricing and availability, and Shopify merchants can connect their stores directly.
Why Claim Your ChatGPT Business Profile Now?
“I’ll get to it eventually” is a fair first reaction. Here is why we would move it up the list.
1. ChatGPT may have your facts wrong
ChatGPT already references businesses when it answers questions, pulling from websites, directories, and other public sources. That information is not always current. An old phone number. A service you stopped offering two years ago. No mention of half the towns you actually serve.
Claiming your profile gives you a direct way to hand ChatGPT accurate information instead of leaving it to guess. For contractors and service businesses especially, you want potential customers to know exactly what you do, where you work, and how to reach you.
2. Early is the easy time to start
Most small businesses have not touched this yet, and the platform is still in beta. Setting up now means you learn the tools while they are simple, and your information is already in good shape as the feature grows.
One thing to be clear about: claiming your profile does not make ChatGPT recommend you more often. OpenAI says its recommendations stay independent, and its own setup notes say a product feed does not guarantee placement. What you get is control over your information and a head start on a channel that keeps growing.
3. The insights are useful on their own
Once your business is claimed and verified, Business Hub shows aggregated data about how your company appears in ChatGPT:
- How often your business is mentioned
- How many people click through to your website
- Discovery topics, the common themes in conversations where your website comes up
Picture a roofing company learning that most of its ChatGPT mentions come from questions about storm damage and metal roofing. That is a clear signal about which service pages deserve more attention and what to write about next.
How to Claim Your ChatGPT Business Profile
The process will feel familiar if you have ever claimed a Google Business Profile.
Step 1: Find your business
Sign in to ChatGPT and open Business Hub. Search for your company and select the listing that matches it.
Step 2: Verify it
You will need to show that you own or are authorized to represent the business. Depending on what is available, verification can run through your business phone number, business email, website domain, or another supported method. OpenAI also requires an identity verification step through its partner Persona before profile updates and insights unlock.
Step 3: Review your information
Once your claim is approved, go through the profile carefully. Make sure the description says what you actually do, the services are complete, and the website and contact details are correct.
Step 4: Check your insights now and then
This is a beta product, and the features will keep changing. A quick monthly look at your mentions, clicks, and discovery topics is plenty to start.
What About Ads in ChatGPT?
OpenAI is also rolling out advertising as a separate part of the ChatGPT experience. Ads are clearly labeled as sponsored, and OpenAI says they do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives on its own.
For a business owner, that creates two separate lanes to think about:
- Organic AI visibility: making sure your website and business information give AI platforms accurate material to reference
- Paid AI advertising: sponsored placements, available through OpenAI’s Ads Manager depending on your market
Our take mirrors what we tell clients about Google: ads work best on top of a solid organic presence, not instead of one.
What About Business Agents?
Business Agents are the other half of the announcement. After claiming its business, an eligible company can build an AI agent that answers customer questions using information and guidelines the business provides. A retailer could use one to help shoppers compare products or check a return policy right inside ChatGPT, in a conversation that is clearly labeled as coming from the business.
For now, Business Agents are limited to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States. Local contractors and most service businesses are not included yet, though OpenAI says it plans to expand to more markets and categories over time.
Rather Have Your ChatGPT Business Profile Handled for You?
If you run a plumbing outfit, an electrical shop, a roofing crew, or a retail store, you probably did not budget an afternoon this month for learning another marketing platform. You have a business to run.
At Central Lakes Digital, managing online presence is the job. We now offer done-for-you ChatGPT business profile management, which covers:
- Checking your eligibility and your current presence in ChatGPT
- Walking through the claiming and verification process with you
- Setting up the right authorized access for ongoing management
- Writing a clear, accurate business description and service list
- Reviewing your website for AI discoverability, which pairs naturally with the answer engine optimization work we already do
- Keeping an eye on your Business Hub insights and recommending improvements
You keep ownership of your business. We handle the marketing side, the same way we do with Google Business Profiles today.
The Bottom Line on Your ChatGPT Business Profile
Google is not going anywhere, and the SEO fundamentals still matter. But people are forming new search habits, and OpenAI just handed businesses a real tool for showing up accurately in one of the biggest AI platforms.
Claim your ChatGPT business profile, get the information right, and glance at the insights once in a while. That is the whole assignment. You do not need to become an AI expert to do it.
Rather hand it off? Book a call with Central Lakes Digital and we will get your business claimed, verified, and represented the way it should be. And if you want a broader look at how your website holds up in AI-powered search, start with our free website audit.
Written by
The Central Lakes Digital Team
We're a Bemidji, Minnesota team that builds websites, handles SEO and runs the marketing tech for local businesses across the Upper Midwest and Canada. These guides come straight from the work we do for clients every week.
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