Skip to content
doping.ai
Start onboarding
Back to research

How to claim your business in ChatGPT: what we saw claiming a small online shop

OpenAI opened Business Hub on 10 November 2026. The same evening, we claimed a small online shop that sells fashion accessories, and recorded every screen. This is the full flow, what it asked for, and where it stopped.

  • Guide
  • 11 November 2026
  • 8 min read

Claiming takes nine steps. Service businesses cannot claim yet.

An online store can create its business in one sitting if it can edit its DNS or sign in to Shopify. The flow ends with a draft profile and a government-ID check.

Two findings came before the first form. ChatGPT’s business directory linked the shop’s domain to an unrelated company. And the option for businesses that provide a service was marked “Coming soon”.

What Businesses in ChatGPT is.

According to OpenAI’s announcement, businesses use Business Hub to claim their business, keep its information and product feeds current, and see aggregated insights: mentions, website clicks, and discovery topics, meaning common themes in conversations where their website is cited.

OpenAI says any eligible business located where ChatGPT is available can claim. Business Agents, which answer customer questions in a separate, labelled conversation, start with eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States. Shopify merchants can also connect their store, and Enterprise customers and advertisers can claim through their OpenAI representative.

Before you start.

01A ChatGPT account
The account that will own the business profile.
02DNS or Shopify access
Access to your domain’s DNS records, or the Shopify admin for the store.
03Your shop policies
Delivery costs, any free-delivery minimum, return fees, and the return window.
04A government-issued ID
Required before you can edit business information or publish a Business Agent.

Step by step.

  1. 01

    Open Business Hub and search for your business

    Sign in to ChatGPT and open chatgpt.com/business-hub. Searching accepts OpenAI’s Businesses in ChatGPT Terms. Results list businesses ChatGPT already knows, plus a Create option.

    Read the matches before you click. Our search for the shop’s domain returned an unrelated company with a different name and address. A search for the shop’s name returned nothing, so we created a new business. Claim an existing entry only if it is yours.

    Business Hub search for the shop’s domain showing a Create option and one unrelated company
    The only match for the shop’s domain was an unrelated company.
  2. 02

    Choose how customers reach you

    Business Hub offers three types: a physical location, an online store, or a service. Service was marked “Coming soon” and could not be selected. The shop sells from its own website, so we chose Through an online store.

    Business type options: physical location, online store, and a service option marked Coming soon
    Service businesses cannot be created yet.
  3. 03

    Add your website and choose how to prove ownership

    Enter the website address. Business Hub then offers two ownership checks: sign in to Shopify, or add a DNS TXT record for the domain. We used the DNS record, which works for any website whose DNS you can edit.

    Ownership options for the shop’s website: Shopify sign-in or a website domain DNS TXT record
    Two ways to prove you control the website.
  4. 04

    Add the TXT record before it expires

    Business Hub shows a record named openai-business-profile on your domain, with a value that starts openai-business-profile=. The record expires about half an hour after it is generated, so have DNS access ready before you start.

    In most DNS editors, enter only openai-business-profile as the name; the editor adds the domain. Once public resolvers return the value, for example with dig +short TXT openai-business-profile.example.com, click Verify domain.

    DNS TXT record details with the token redacted and an expiry time
    The record name, a redacted value, and its expiry time.
  5. 05

    Pick a category and describe the business

    Choose a category from a searchable list; we used Fashion accessories store. The description is optional. Business Hub says ChatGPT can share it “in conversations when helpful or relevant”, so keep it factual.

    Business category set to Fashion accessories store with a one-sentence description
    The profile preview on the right updates as you go.
  6. 06

    Decide on contact details

    A phone number and email are optional, but each one triggers a verification code: SMS or an automated call for the phone, a code for the email.

  7. 07

    Set your delivery policy

    Choose no delivery, paid delivery, or free delivery. Free delivery can apply to all orders or above a minimum amount in a chosen currency. Match what your shop actually charges; the profile shows it.

    Delivery policy set to free delivery on orders over 49 euros
    Our shop’s setting: free delivery over €49.
  8. 08

    Set your return policy and submit

    Choose no returns, returns with fees, or free returns, then a return window: 14, 30, 45, or 90 days, no time limit, or a custom period. Submit creates the business.

    Return policy set to free returns within 14 days
    The last form step before Submit.
  9. 09

    Finish identity verification

    The business is saved as a Draft. Its overview then asks you to verify your identity with a government-issued ID before you can edit business information or publish a Business Agent. The confirmation screen also offers $500 in ChatGPT Ads credit and a ChatGPT Business plan. After you submit ID, the check goes to review, and the profile stays a Draft with the verification banner until it finishes.

    Confirmation that the business was created and saved as a draft, with offers for advertising credit and a Business plan
    Created, but still a draft.

What Business Hub shows after you submit.

The business area has three pages: Overview, Agent builder, and Products, where a catalog can be uploaded from a file. Overview has brand insights and agent insights over 7 or 28 days: mentions, website clicks, and the top five discovery topics.

Business Hub overview for the shop in draft, with the ID verification banner and empty mentions and website clicks
The overview right after creation.

OpenAI says insights appear once there are enough conversations or interactions to meet its thresholds, and that businesses never see users’ conversations or Business Agent chats.

Check how ChatGPT already sees your business.

The search box is useful even if you never submit. It shows which business ChatGPT’s directory connects to your name and domain.

  • The shop’s domain matched an unrelated company with a different name and address.
  • The shop’s name returned no match.

If the match is wrong, create your own business and verify the domain.

What this means for a business.

Claiming is quick and free for an online store, and it gives ChatGPT verified facts about your delivery, returns, and products. It is worth doing now, before someone else’s entry is linked to your domain.

  • Search your name and domain first. Note any wrong match before you create a new business.
  • Prepare DNS access and ID. The DNS record expires quickly, and the profile stays a draft without ID.
  • Copy your published policies exactly. Delivery and return answers appear on the profile.
  • Treat the insights as a ChatGPT-only signal. They are aggregated, limited to one assistant, and hidden below OpenAI’s thresholds.

Business Hub counts mentions. It does not show the answers themselves, the competitors recommended instead of you, or what other assistants say.

See the answers behind the count.

doping.ai asks buyer Probes across six assistants and keeps each original answer with its Citations and the competitors it named. Use it alongside Business Hub to see why ChatGPT mentions you, or recommends someone else.