OpenAI’s Businesses in ChatGPT lets companies claim and verify an official business profile, see how they appear in ChatGPT through discovery analytics, and, in the US, build Business Agents. Canadian businesses can start now. A verified profile won’t guarantee recommendations, but accurate business information is a sensible first step as customers shift research to AI assistants. This post covers what to do today.
AI discovery is becoming a new front door for businesses. OpenAI’s latest announcement gives Canadian companies a reason to start paying attention.
On November 10, 2026, OpenAI announced Businesses in ChatGPT, introducing a new way for companies to manage how they appear and interact with customers inside ChatGPT.
For Canadian businesses, this is an important development. Just as Google Business Profile became an essential part of local search visibility, OpenAI is beginning to build the infrastructure for businesses to establish an official presence in AI-powered discovery.
And Canadian companies can start participating now.
What is ChatGPT Business Hub?
The new platform allows eligible businesses to claim and verify their business profiles, provide information about their products and services, and access tools designed to help them understand how customers discover them through ChatGPT.
Three capabilities are particularly interesting:
- Business profiles: Claim your business and provide authoritative information about your company, products, and services.
- Discovery analytics: Gain insight into how your business appears in ChatGPT, including mentions, website referrals, and the topics associated with customer discovery.
- Business Agents: Create AI-powered customer experiences that answer questions using information and guidance supplied by your business.
Not every feature is available to every business immediately. Business Agents are initially limited to eligible US businesses, but the broader Business Hub rollout includes opportunities for Canadian companies.
Why Canadian businesses should care
Consumers are increasingly using AI assistants to research products, compare services, and make purchasing decisions.
Instead of searching through ten blue links, a customer might ask ChatGPT to recommend an accountant in Toronto, compare Canadian electric vehicles, or identify software providers serving small businesses.
That changes the discovery process.
Businesses have spent decades optimizing websites for search engines. Now they need to think about how their information is understood, represented, and recommended by AI systems.
The introduction of verified business profiles is an early indication that OpenAI recognizes the importance of connecting AI-generated answers with authoritative business information.
For marketers, it also introduces a potentially valuable new source of insight: understanding how customers discover your business through conversational AI.
Is this the Google Business Profile moment for AI?
There are obvious parallels.
Google Business Profile gave organizations a way to manage important information appearing in Google Search and Maps. ChatGPT Business Hub could become a similar foundation for businesses participating in AI-driven discovery.
But there is an important distinction.
Claiming a business profile does not guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend your company or rank it more prominently.
AI recommendations still depend on relevance, available information, and the context of a user’s question.
Nevertheless, providing accurate, authoritative business information is a sensible first step.
And the opportunity to measure how your business appears in AI conversations could become particularly valuable as more consumer research shifts toward conversational interfaces.
What should Canadian businesses do today?
My recommendation is straightforward: don’t wait until AI discovery becomes a major acquisition channel before establishing your presence.
- Visit OpenAI’s official Business Hub: Businesses in ChatGPT.
- Claim and verify your business, if eligible.
- Review your company information to ensure it accurately describes your services, products, locations, and website.
- Explore the available analytics to establish an initial understanding of your visibility in ChatGPT.
- Monitor new features as OpenAI expands the platform, particularly Business Agents and additional Canadian availability.
There is no need to abandon traditional SEO or rush into another marketing platform. But there is good reason to start learning how this new channel works.
The next evolution of business discovery
For years, businesses have focused on being found through search engines. Increasingly, customers are asking AI assistants to do the searching, comparing, and evaluating for them.
OpenAI’s Business Hub is an important milestone in that transition.
We are still early in understanding how businesses will manage their presence across AI assistants, how discovery analytics will evolve, and whether these platforms will eventually offer the same depth of tools that marketers expect from traditional search.
But one thing is becoming clearer: AI visibility deserves a place alongside search visibility in every business’s digital strategy.
For Canadian businesses, claiming a profile is a practical place to start.
Official announcement: Introducing Businesses in ChatGPT
Get started: OpenAI Businesses in ChatGPT
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ChatGPT Business Hub?
It’s OpenAI’s Businesses in ChatGPT platform, announced November 10, 2026. Eligible businesses can claim and verify a profile, provide information about their products and services, and use discovery analytics to see mentions, website referrals and the topics customers associate with them in ChatGPT.
Can Canadian businesses claim a profile in ChatGPT?
Yes. The broader Business Hub rollout includes Canadian companies, so eligible businesses can claim and verify a profile now. Business Agents, the AI-powered customer experience, are initially limited to eligible US businesses.
Will a verified profile make ChatGPT recommend my business?
No. Claiming a profile doesn’t guarantee ChatGPT will recommend your company or rank it more prominently. Recommendations still depend on relevance, the information available and the context of the question. Accurate, authoritative information is a sensible first step, not a ranking boost.
What should a Canadian business do first?
Visit OpenAI’s Businesses in ChatGPT page, claim and verify your business if you’re eligible, and check that your services, products, locations and website are described accurately. Then look at the analytics to get a baseline of your visibility, and watch for Business Agents to reach Canada.