OpenAI wants to make ChatGPT a central hub for you. The AI startup has now rolled out Businesses in ChatGPT, which brings the AI chatbot closer to search engines like Google in terms of business tools.
Going forward, a company will be able to set up its business profile on the AI chatbot, and even have its own business AI agent for customers to talk to.“Today’s announcement is an early step in bringing businesses more deeply into ChatGPT,” OpenAI said. “We’re starting with the foundations: accurate business information, useful insights and conversations that help people make informed decisions.” The AI startup claimed that this will bring more ways for businesses to connect with 1.2 billion active weekly users of ChatGPT.As per OpenAI, Businesses in ChatGPT is a suite of tools that includes Business Hub. This hub allows companies to claim and verify their profiles.
Once set up, a company can track user interactions on ChatGPT and add product details, among other things. This feature resembles tools we have previously seen on search engines like Google.
But there are some unique additions.Businesses having their own AI agentsA company will be able to have its own AI agent through Businesses in ChatGPT. According to OpenAI’s blog post, when a company with a Business Agent appears in a ChatGPT response, likely when you are browsing products, you can open its profile and start a separate conversation.
Here is how a business profile might appear on ChatGPT. While talking to this dedicated agent, you can ask about the company’s offerings and pose follow-up questions, including how two products differ or which features suit your needs.
Businesses can provide instructions and context that determine how their agents respond.The blog post added that all business agent chats would be clearly labelled and kept separate from your original ChatGPT conversations and the platform's independent answers. Businesses can also sponsor their agents and use them as destinations for ChatGPT advertisements, with sponsored placements labelled separately.
A screenshot of the Business Hub on ChatGPT. Apart from the AI agent, OpenAI said, Shopify merchants can connect their stores through Business Hub or Shopify's administration tools.
The hub provides aggregated insights, including profile views, business mentions, website clicks and discovery topics, or common themes in chats where a company's website is cited. OpenAI said it would not share users' conversations or Business Agent chats with companies.
Insights will be available only when interactions meet specified thresholds, the AI startup noted.Businesses in ChatGPT is rolling out globally in beta. Though the Business Agents feature is initially available to eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the US.
OpenAI previously sought to make ChatGPT a direct e-commerce platform through commission-based purchases and a checkout cart, but retired the initiative in March this year.- Ends