Aiming to make ChatGPT an even better consumer discovery engine, OpenAI is launching a host of new features designed to help businesses control how users interact with their business.
On Tuesday, the company rolled out a Business Hub that will serve as a place where businesses can create business profiles that, in a feature that closely resembles the type of profiles already offered by Google and other search engines, will allow businesses to check and update information about their products and services. The feature is currently in beta.
Eligible businesses will also be able to create and launch a specialist sales agent, which will give ChatGPT users the opportunity to ask questions about the business and its products.
“As people turn to AI to discover products, compare options and make decisions, ChatGPT has become the platform for people and businesses to connect through AI,” the company said Tuesday. “Today’s announcement is a first step in getting businesses more involved in ChatGPT.”
In a move reminiscent of Google Analytics, the Business Hub will also give users access to limited business information. This information will reveal how ChatGPT users interact with their products, including profile views, business mentions, website clicks and other metrics.
Companies will need to verify their profile through a formal process, although the company did not specify what that process would entail. Benji Shomair, OpenAI’s vice president of monetization, told reporters Monday that there are “multiple verification methods that we use for different types of businesses in different markets.”
OpenAI previously attempted to position ChatGPT as an e-commerce platform that allows users to purchase products directly. This effort – which used a commission system – was seen as a potentially huge revenue stream and a way to make ChatGPT a more direct competitor to Amazon. However, this project ultimately failed to take off, and in March the company abandoned its efforts, which even included a “checkout cart” feature.
With the integration of business profiles and intelligence, ChatGPT appears to be attempting to be more like Google, which, since the advent of the Internet, has been the place people go to understand the businesses they want to shop with. It remains to be seen whether this initiative will yield better results than the one that aimed to make ChatGPT a direct e-commerce hub.
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