Short answer: go to chatgpt.com/business-hub, search for your business, and prove you control it through your business phone line or your website's DNS. It's free right now. And if you don't claim your listing, someone else who controls your phone line or domain could.
On November 10, 2026, OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT. It works a lot like a Google Business Profile, except the place your customers are looking is a conversation with an AI, not a page of search results. We claimed both of our own offices the day after launch. Here's what it is, why it matters, how to do it, and what we learned along the way.
What is Businesses in ChatGPT?
Businesses in ChatGPT is OpenAI's new program that lets a business claim its listing in ChatGPT, keep its information current, and see how people engage with it. It's in beta. Once you claim and verify your listing, you get three things:
- Control of your information. Your business details, like contact information, hours and what you offer, so ChatGPT describes you accurately.
- Insights. Counts of how often your business is mentioned in ChatGPT, profile views, clicks to your website, and the topics people are discussing when your business comes up. Numbers appear once there's enough activity.
- A business agent. An optional AI assistant that answers customer questions about your business inside ChatGPT, using guidelines you set. At launch, OpenAI limited business agents to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the U.S.
Why it matters for your business
OpenAI says 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT every week. More of them are asking it the questions they used to type into a search bar: who fixes roofs near me, which accounting firm handles small businesses, which IT company should we hire.
Here's the truth: claiming your listing won't make ChatGPT recommend you more often by itself. OpenAI has said as much. What it does is make sure that when ChatGPT does talk about your business, it gets the facts right. Wrong hours, an old phone number or services you stopped offering two years ago all cost you customers you'll never know you lost.
You also get something most owners have never had: a look at how often your business comes up in AI conversations, and what people were asking about when it did.
The security reason to claim it now
This is the part most business owners will miss. ChatGPT verifies a claim through one of two things: your business's main phone number or your website's DNS. That means anyone who controls either one can claim your business.
Think about who that could include. A former employee who still has access to your phone system. An old web designer or IT vendor who still has your domain login. Someone you've never heard of who got into an account that was never locked down.
If they claim it first, they control how ChatGPT describes your business. Getting it back is a headache you don't need. A few things to do before and after you claim:
- Claim it under a company account, not one person's personal login, so it doesn't walk out the door when someone leaves.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for that account.
- Know who can log in to your domain provider and phone system. If you can't name everyone with access, find out.
- Check your listing after you claim it, and look at it again every few months.
How to claim your business on ChatGPT, step by step
- Sign in to ChatGPT with the company account you want to own the listing.
- Go to chatgpt.com/business-hub and search for your business name.
- Pick the right location. If you have more than one office, each one shows up as its own listing.
- Click Get started, then Continue. This accepts OpenAI's Businesses in ChatGPT Terms.
- Choose how to verify. Business phone sends a code by text or call to your listed number. Website domain gives you a TXT record to add at your domain provider.
- Finish verification. Enter the phone code, or add the DNS record and click Verify domain.
- Wait for review. Your listing shows as Pending while OpenAI reviews the claim, and they email the account with a decision.
- Verify your identity when asked. In our case, a government-issued ID check was required before we could edit business information.
- Fill in your profile and repeat for any other locations.
What we learned claiming our own listings
- Each office was a separate listing. We have offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC, and each one needed its own claim.
- Phone verification can fail. It worked for one office and not the other. The DNS option took a few minutes and went through on the first try.
- The DNS record may sit under "www." Ours did, because the listing had our website as www.fairoaksit.com. Copy the host name exactly as ChatGPT shows it.
- The verification record expires. Ours was good for about 24 hours, so add it the same day.
- Editing requires an ID check. Plan for the owner or an authorized person to have a government ID ready.
- Decide who owns it before you start. The account you claim with is the account that manages the listing.
What to put in your profile
Treat it like your Google Business Profile. Keep it accurate and consistent with your website, because AI tools trust information that matches across sources.
- Your exact business name, address and main phone number
- Your website, pointing to the page that best fits that location
- Your real hours
- A plain description of what you do, who you serve and where
- What you don't do, so ChatGPT doesn't send you the wrong customers
One more thing: the business hub shows whether ChatGPT can access your website. If your site blocks AI crawlers or hides its text behind scripts, fix that too.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to claim your business on ChatGPT?
Yes, claiming your business on ChatGPT is free during the beta. OpenAI hasn't said whether that will change later, so it's worth claiming now while it costs nothing but a few minutes.
Does claiming my business make ChatGPT recommend me more often?
No, claiming your listing doesn't make ChatGPT mention your business more often on its own. OpenAI has said the value is accurate information and insight: when ChatGPT does mention you, it has your real details, and you can see how often that happens.
How does ChatGPT verify that I own the business?
ChatGPT verifies a claim with a code sent by text or phone call to the business's main number, or with a DNS record added to your website's domain. In our experience, it also asked for identity verification with a government-issued ID before we could edit the listing.
What if phone verification doesn't work?
If the phone code doesn't go through, use website domain (DNS) verification instead. ChatGPT gives you a TXT record to add at your domain provider; once it's live, you click Verify domain. That's how we verified one of our own offices.
Do I need a separate listing for each location?
Yes, ChatGPT treats each business location as its own listing. If you have more than one office, search for each address and claim each one, ideally under the same company account.
What is a ChatGPT business agent?
A business agent is an AI assistant you set up inside ChatGPT to answer customer questions about your business, using guidelines and information you control. At launch, OpenAI limited business agents to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the U.S.
How Fairoaks IT can help
Fairoaks IT has provided managed IT and cybersecurity for businesses in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC area since 1991. Claiming a ChatGPT listing is a small job, but it sits on top of the things that matter most: who controls your domain, your phone system and your company accounts.
We help businesses lock those down with managed security services, and we help them put AI to work safely through AI Advisory through our AI Advantage program.
Not sure who has access to your domain or phone system? Book a 15-minute discovery call with Adam or Tom Crossley, and we'll help you sort it out.
Sources: OpenAI, "Introducing Businesses in ChatGPT" (November 10, 2026); Search Engine Roundtable coverage of the Business Hub launch; and our own experience claiming Fairoaks IT's two office listings in November 2026.
