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OpenAI launched a beta on November 10 that lets businesses manage profiles, submit product information and view aggregated ChatGPT engagement data. Founder Francis Davidson said OpenAI acquired his travel startup Odessia; separately, media reports put OpenAI’s third-quarter revenue near $10 billion and operating losses at $10.9 billion. The announcements point to a broader commercial role for ChatGPT, though acquisition terms and key product details remain undisclosed.
OpenAI launched a beta on November 10 that lets businesses manage profiles and product information in ChatGPT, while travel startup founder Francis Davidson said OpenAI acquired Odessia and hired him. The moves expand the company’s efforts to connect users with businesses and services inside ChatGPT; reports also put its third-quarter revenue at about $10 billion, alongside widened operating losses.
OpenAI’s Businesses in ChatGPT beta has two components. In the Business Hub, a company can claim and verify a profile, update business details, submit product feeds with pricing and availability, and review aggregated measures such as mentions, profile views, website clicks and discovery topics. Reuters, The Verge and TechCrunch reported these features based on OpenAI’s announcement. OpenAI has not detailed all verification methods.
Eligible U.S. e-commerce and online service businesses can also offer a Business Agent. Users who encounter one in a ChatGPT answer can open a separate conversation to ask about its products or services. Businesses provide the agent’s instructions and information. OpenAI says these chats are labeled and separate from users’ main conversations, and that it does not share those conversations with businesses. The company says aggregated insights appear only after activity passes certain thresholds.
Businesses can sponsor their agents and use them as destinations for ChatGPT Ads, with sponsored placements labeled. The acquisition news came from Davidson, who announced that he was joining OpenAI; an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed his hiring to TechCrunch. Acquisition terms were not disclosed. Financial figures are also based on reporting rather than published accounts: The Information first reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion, while Bloomberg reported growth of nearly 50% from the previous quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. Reuters reported that the Wall Street Journal put operating losses at $10.9 billion for the same quarter.
Businesses Seek a Place in ChatGPT
The beta gives businesses a way to manage information that may shape how ChatGPT describes them and to view aggregated measures of how users find them. The reported measures include mentions, views and clicks. OpenAI has not disclosed how those measures are calculated or whether they affect a company’s placement.
Business Agents and sponsored destinations let users move from a general answer to questions about a particular seller’s offerings. Businesses may pay to bring users to their agent. OpenAI says paid placements will be labeled and user conversations will not be shared with businesses. The announcement does not describe how sponsored options will appear in practice or how users will respond to them.
The revenue and loss reports describe the company’s finances for the quarter but do not establish its overall financial position. The Information reported about $10 billion in quarterly revenue, while the Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters, put operating losses at $10.9 billion. OpenAI has not released financial statements confirming those figures.
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From Listings to Chat Commerce
The Business Hub’s profile and product feed features resemble tools used by businesses to manage listings and product information on established search platforms. The resemblance prompted TechCrunch to describe the change as making ChatGPT “just a little bit more like Google.” The comparison is about the function of business listings; OpenAI has not said the new hub works like Google’s services in every respect.
OpenAI has previously tried to bring shopping into ChatGPT through direct checkout and commissions. TechCrunch reported that the effort did not gain traction and was retired in March. The new beta takes a different route: it gives businesses profiles and agents, and allows sponsored agent destinations, rather than relying on the earlier checkout approach.
OpenAI said in August that ChatGPT Ads had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate. That figure was the company’s statement about an annualized pace, not revenue booked over a full year. The November business tools add another possible way for companies to participate in ChatGPT as OpenAI develops commercial services.
“Just a little bit more like Google.”
— TechCrunch
Verification, Reach and Costs
OpenAI has not explained exactly how businesses will be verified across markets, which companies will qualify for the beta beyond the stated U.S. categories, or when access may broaden. It has also not described how mentions and other engagement measures are calculated, how discovery topics are selected, or whether profile information or product feeds affect which businesses ChatGPT recommends.
The company says it does not share users’ conversations with businesses and that insights are aggregated above activity thresholds. The available announcement does not specify those thresholds or all the controls businesses and users will have over agent conversations. The degree to which sponsored agents may affect user choices is not yet clear.
Odessia’s purchase price, deal structure and planned role within OpenAI have not been announced. Nor has OpenAI published financial statements confirming the reported revenue, growth or operating loss figures. Those numbers remain attributed media reports, not company-released audited results.
The Beta’s Next Milestones
OpenAI’s next visible step will be operating the beta and clarifying access, verification and measurement as more businesses use Business Hub. Companies considering participation will be watching for details on eligibility, the process for connecting product feeds and what the reported engagement indicators can tell them. OpenAI has not announced a timetable for expanding the program.
Businesses and users will also be able to observe how Business Agents appear in ChatGPT answers, how sponsored destinations are labeled and how the separate conversations work in practice. Further information about Odessia’s integration may clarify what role travel services will play in ChatGPT. The terms of the acquisition and a timeline for any travel product changes remain unknown.
For the financial picture, the next useful confirmation would be additional detail from OpenAI or a later report that clarifies the basis of the quarterly figures. Until then, the reported revenue and operating loss should be treated as separate, attributed estimates rather than a complete statement of the company’s financial health.
Key Questions
What did OpenAI launch for businesses?
OpenAI launched a beta Business Hub for claiming profiles, updating details, submitting product feeds and viewing aggregated engagement insights. Eligible U.S. e-commerce and online service businesses can also offer labeled Business Agents in ChatGPT.
Did OpenAI acquire Odessia?
Odessia founder Francis Davidson said OpenAI acquired the AI travel startup and that he was joining OpenAI. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed his hiring to TechCrunch. The purchase terms were not disclosed.
Can businesses see users’ ChatGPT conversations?
OpenAI says it does not share users’ conversations or Business Agent chats with businesses. It says businesses receive aggregated insights only after activity passes certain thresholds, but it has not specified those thresholds.
How much revenue and operating loss did OpenAI report?
OpenAI has not published financial statements confirming the figures. The Information reported third-quarter revenue of about $10 billion; Bloomberg reported nearly 50% growth from the prior quarter, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters, put operating losses at $10.9 billion for that quarter.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
