🔍 Read the full analysis: OpenAI’s Road Beyond ChatGPT: Business Profiles, Odessia And More on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
Prime made for students and young adults
- Fast, free delivery for dorm and study essentials
- Prime Video and Amazon Music included
- Member-only deals
TL;DR
OpenAI launched a beta Business Hub in ChatGPT on Nov. 10, allowing companies to claim profiles, submit product data and view aggregated engagement insights. Founder Francis Davidson said OpenAI acquired his travel startup Odessia; separate reports put OpenAI’s third-quarter revenue at about $10 billion, alongside reported operating losses of $10.9 billion.
OpenAI launched a beta business platform inside ChatGPT on Nov. 10, giving companies tools to claim profiles, submit product information and track aggregated engagement, as the company also acquired AI travel startup Odessia. The developments point to a broader effort to make ChatGPT a place where people discover and compare businesses, while reports on the same day put OpenAI’s third-quarter revenue at about $10 billion.
OpenAI’s new Business Hub lets companies claim and verify their presence in ChatGPT, update business details and submit product feeds containing prices and availability. According to OpenAI, as reported by Reuters, The Verge and TechCrunch, the Hub also shows aggregate measures including mentions in ChatGPT responses, profile views, website clicks and topics associated with discovery.
A second feature, Business Agents, lets eligible U.S. e-commerce and online service companies offer a separate AI conversation about their products. Businesses provide the agent’s instructions and information. OpenAI says those chats are labeled and kept separate from a user’s main conversation. Companies can sponsor an agent as a destination for ChatGPT ads, with sponsored placements identified as such.
Odessia founder Francis Davidson said OpenAI acquired the travel startup and that he is joining the company. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Davidson’s hiring to TechCrunch. Separately, The Information reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion, while Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth from the previous quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. OpenAI has not published financial statements. The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters, put operating losses for the quarter at $10.9 billion.
OpenAI’s Road Beyond ChatGPT Business Profiles, Odessia and More
OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a channel for business discovery, product information and sponsored conversations. The move coincides with its acquisition of Odessia and media reports on quarterly finances.
A new business channel
The beta gives companies tools to manage how they appear in ChatGPT and understand aggregated discovery activity.
Claim a profile
Businesses can verify their presence, update details and submit product feeds with prices and availability.
Track discovery
Aggregated measures include mentions, profile views, website clicks and discovery topics.
Answer product questions
Eligible U.S. businesses can offer separate, labeled conversations about their products or services.
What users and businesses should know
Sponsored destinations and business-provided information bring commercial content closer to conversational search.
- Keep submitted product details accurate.
- Use aggregated engagement to assess visibility.
- Eligible U.S. e-commerce and online service companies can offer agents.
- Sponsored agents are identified as sponsored.
- OpenAI says agent chats stay separate from main conversations.
- OpenAI says it does not share user conversations with businesses.
Odessia joins the picture
Founder Francis Davidson said OpenAI acquired his AI travel startup and that he is joining OpenAI.
Davidson announced the deal; an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed his hiring to TechCrunch.
The acquisition price and financial terms have not been disclosed.
What remains uncertain
The beta is an early step, and several details are still open.
- OpenAI has not announced a broader rollout date.
- How much the tools affect customer decisions or sales is not yet known.
- Revenue and loss figures come from media reports; OpenAI has not published financial statements confirming them.
ChatGPT Becomes a Business Channel
The Business Hub gives companies a direct way to manage information that may appear when ChatGPT answers questions about products or services. Its mentions, views and click data could give businesses a new measure of visibility in AI-generated answers, although OpenAI says insights are aggregated and appear only after activity reaches certain thresholds.
Product feeds may also make current prices and availability easier for ChatGPT to use when people compare options. That creates a practical reason for businesses to keep submitted information accurate. It also gives OpenAI a commercial route beyond advertising: businesses can pay to sponsor agents, while users can ask questions in a dedicated conversation. How much these tools affect customer decisions or sales is not yet known.
For users, the launch brings business-provided information and sponsored destinations closer to conversational search. OpenAI says it does not share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses. The labels and separation it describes will matter as users judge whether a recommendation is an ordinary ChatGPT answer, a business agent response or an ad.
Popular right now
KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, Almond Cream
Bose QuietComfort True Wireless Earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C Charging, IPX4, Black
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), Wireless Noise-Cancelling Earbuds with Immersive Audio and Wireless Charging Case, Black
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From ChatGPT Shopping to Business Hub
The launch follows earlier efforts to turn ChatGPT into a shopping destination. TechCrunch reported that OpenAI had previously tested direct checkout and a commission model, but retired that effort in March after it did not take off. The new approach centers on business information, product feeds and agent conversations, rather than relying on checkout inside ChatGPT.
OpenAI has also been building an advertising business. The company said in August that ChatGPT Ads had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate. The new profiles and sponsored agents extend the ways businesses may appear in ChatGPT, though OpenAI has not described how the features will affect ad placement or how widely the beta will expand.
OpenAI characterized the launch as an early step. The company said it was starting with accurate business information, insights and conversations intended to help people make informed decisions. Its financial picture remains based on reporting rather than published statements: the roughly $10 billion revenue figure and $10.9 billion operating-loss figure have not been confirmed in public financial filings.
“Davidson announced that OpenAI acquired his AI travel agent startup and that he is joining OpenAI.”
— Francis Davidson, Odessia founder
Verification, Reach and Deal Terms
OpenAI has not detailed exactly how businesses will prove ownership during profile verification, beyond saying methods differ by business type and market. It has also not disclosed when the beta will expand beyond its current eligibility rules, or how many companies can use it at launch.
The company has not explained the thresholds required before aggregated insights appear, how product-feed information is used in ChatGPT answers, or how sponsored agents relate to other advertising placements. OpenAI says it does not share users’ conversations or agent chats with businesses, but the source material does not provide further technical detail about data handling.
Odessia’s acquisition price and terms remain undisclosed. The revenue and loss figures are media reports, not figures released in public financial statements by OpenAI. The reported growth rate and results have not been independently established here.
Beta Rollout and Financial Disclosure
Businesses eligible for the beta can claim a profile through Business Hub; existing OpenAI enterprise customers and advertisers can do so through their OpenAI representative, while Shopify merchants can connect through Business Hub or Shopify’s admin. OpenAI has not announced a broader rollout date or a schedule for adding markets and business categories.
The next indicators will be whether companies adopt product feeds and agents, how OpenAI develops its advertising options, and whether it publishes further details about the program. More information about Odessia’s integration and OpenAI’s financial performance may also emerge, but the company has not announced a timetable for either.
Key Questions
What can businesses do with the new ChatGPT Business Hub?
Businesses can claim and verify a profile, update details, submit product feeds with pricing and availability, and view aggregated measures such as mentions, profile views and website clicks.Who can use Business Agents at launch?
OpenAI says eligible e-commerce and online service businesses in the United States can create agents that answer questions about their offerings in separate, labeled conversations.Did OpenAI disclose how much it paid for Odessia?
No. Odessia founder Francis Davidson announced the acquisition and said he is joining OpenAI, but the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed.Are OpenAI’s third-quarter revenue and loss figures confirmed by the company?
The figures are attributed to media reports. The Information reported about $10 billion in revenue, Bloomberg reported nearly 50% quarter-over-quarter growth, and The Wall Street Journal reported $10.9 billion in operating losses. OpenAI has not published financial statements confirming those figures.Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
