You Can Now Claim Your Business in ChatGPT: What NZ Businesses Need to Know

On 10 November 2026, OpenAI launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta. Eligible businesses can claim a listing in Business Hub, then keep their details current and see how often they are mentioned in ChatGPT. TechCrunch compared the profiles with the kind of listing Google already offers. That is the right comparison, as long as you are honest about the limits.

A New Zealand online store or service business with a website may be able to claim today. A local shop, cafe or restaurant should not assume the same. OpenAI’s help docs say local stores and restaurants can currently only claim an existing US listing. Business Agents, including the option to sponsor one as a ChatGPT Ads destination, are limited to eligible US ecommerce and online service businesses for now.

Claiming a profile is useful. It is not a substitute for a clear website, and it does not replace your Google Business Profile.

What Did OpenAI Launch?

Businesses in ChatGPT is a beta product. The workspace for it is called Business Hub. According to OpenAI’s announcement and its setup guide, a verified business can:

Update key details about the business
Add a product feed with pricing and availability
View aggregated insights, including mentions, website clicks and discovery topics

OpenAI also introduced Business Agents: a separate, labelled chat that can answer questions about a business’s offerings. That part is not a New Zealand feature yet.

You do not need a ChatGPT Ads account or an OpenAI Enterprise agreement to claim an eligible business. Shopify merchants can connect their store from Business Hub or the Shopify admin. Existing OpenAI Enterprise customers and advertisers can work through their OpenAI representative, Reuters reported.

Can a New Zealand Business Claim a Listing?

Sometimes. The answer depends on the type of business, not just the fact that ChatGPT works in New Zealand.

OpenAI says any eligible business located where ChatGPT is available can claim through Business Hub. Its product page adds two important limits. Eligibility still depends on industry, location, and verification checks. And claiming is initially available to eligible businesses with a website.

The setup guide is more specific if you cannot find a listing:

If you run an eligible online business, you may see an option to add it.
Local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing US listing.

If you sell online, or you are a service business with a website, search for your name in Business Hub this week. If the listing is missing, look for the option to add it.

If you run a local shop, cafe, restaurant or similar shopfront, do not plan your week around a New Zealand ChatGPT listing. Unless you already have a US listing to claim, OpenAI has not opened that path yet. Your Google Business Profile, reviews and booking links still do the local discovery work. We covered the booking-button check in Google Business Profile Booking Link: Check Yours This Week.

OpenAI says it plans to expand Businesses in ChatGPT and Business Agents to more markets and categories over time. That is a plan, not a New Zealand launch date.

How This Compares with a Google Business Profile

Think of Business Hub as a listing you claim and keep accurate, not as a ranking switch. You claim it if you own the business or are authorised to represent it, you verify the connection, and you can update details. The platform may still draw on other sources. OpenAI is blunt: ChatGPT continues to make independent recommendations and comparisons, and claiming does not guarantee higher placement or sales.

The differences matter just as much:

After the initial claim, OpenAI requires a second identity check with Persona before you can publish changes, connect a product feed, view insights, or create an agent if you are eligible.
You can add product feeds, including a Shopify feed, which is closer to a merchant centre than to a standard Google Business Profile.
Insights cover the past 28 days and include mentions and discovery topics, not only clicks.
Local stores and restaurants are currently limited to existing US listings. Google Business Profile remains the listing New Zealand locals actually use in Search and Maps.
Business Agents, and the option to sponsor one as a ChatGPT Ads destination, are US-only for now.

I would not treat one as a replacement for the other. Google is still where most New Zealand customers search, call and book. ChatGPT is an extra surface where people already ask for recommendations. Keep both accurate. For the Google AI side of that work, start with Google AI Mode: What New Zealand Businesses Need to Know in 2026.

How to Claim Your Business in ChatGPT

OpenAI’s setup steps are straightforward. Follow the methods Business Hub actually offers you. TechCrunch quoted OpenAI’s Benji Shomair saying there are multiple verification methods for different types of business in different markets.

Sign in to ChatGPT and open Business Hub from the sidebar. Search for your business by name.
Select the listing that matches, and confirm the ChatGPT account you will use to manage it.
Choose one of the verification methods shown and follow the prompts.
Wait for OpenAI to review the claim. It will email a decision or a request for more information. You can cancel the claim while it is under review.
Complete identity verification with Persona. This is a separate step. You may need a government-issued ID, business registration information, and proof that you are authorised to represent the business.

The four claim verification methods in the help article are business phone (text message or an automated call), business email, a website domain TXT record, or a connected Shopify store.

If you received a claim invitation, open the personal link and sign in with the address that received it. Do not forward that link to give someone else access. If the listing shows Contact support, it is locked and you need to request help. If it has already been claimed, you can dispute ownership and verify with Persona that you are authorised to represent the business. Claiming or disputing does not, on its own, change the profile’s visibility in ChatGPT.

Claiming the listing is not the same as finishing setup. OpenAI says you need Persona approval before you can publish changes, view insights, or create an eligible agent. The verified badge, a blue check, appears after Persona verification is approved, not after the claim alone. If you use Persona to create a new profile, OpenAI’s approval can publish that profile automatically, so only continue when you are ready.

The admin who claimed the business can later add teammates, or grant an agency access, using each person’s own ChatGPT account.

What You Can Update Once You Are Verified

After the claim and Persona check are approved, you can edit the profile in Business Hub. The help article lists website, business description, product or service category, logo, delivery policy and return policy, plus a cover photo and other optional details. The information has to follow OpenAI’s Businesses in ChatGPT policy.

OpenAI reviews and publishes those changes. Updates can take time to appear, and ChatGPT may still use other sources when it talks about your business. A saved change is not an instant rewrite of every answer.

If you sell products, you can connect a product feed, including a Shopify feed, to share prices and availability. You can upload a CSV that follows OpenAI’s product feed specification, or link to a hosted file. Connecting a feed does not publish an agent, and it does not guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend your products.

If you already run Shopify, this sits beside the work in Is Your Shopify Store Showing Up in ChatGPT and Perplexity?. The feed helps ChatGPT see current prices and stock. It does not replace clear product pages or buying guides.

What the Insights Actually Show

Once verification is approved, Insights in Business Hub shows aggregate activity over the past 28 days.

Mentions. For an online business, a mention counts when ChatGPT references the business’s website. The brand name alone does not count. For a local business, a mention counts when ChatGPT shows a result for that location, even if the person does not open the listing or visit the site.
Website clicks. How often people click through to your website.
Discovery topics. Common themes in ChatGPT answers that mentioned or cited your business. These are grouped themes, not a list of individual prompts, and they do not directly measure customer intent.

OpenAI does not share users’ conversations, or chats with a Business Agent, with the business. Insights only appear when there are enough conversations or interactions to meet its thresholds. A blank metric can mean the threshold has not been reached, data is still being collected, or reporting is unavailable. It does not necessarily mean zero activity.

Search Engine Land noted that click data is useful here, because most AI search reports still do not show it. Treat the numbers as a 28-day snapshot of how ChatGPT represents you, not as proof that claiming the profile caused a lift.

Business Agents Are United States Only for Now

A Business Agent is a separate conversation a customer can start from a business’s ChatGPT profile after the business appears in an answer. OpenAI says the chat is clearly labelled and kept distinct from ChatGPT’s independent answers.

It is also limited. Agents are available to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States, with a website, that meet the industry rules in OpenAI’s Business Agents Policy. A New Zealand business can claim a profile, if it is eligible, without being able to publish an agent.

The current agent cannot complete purchases, make bookings, or check a customer’s order. It can explain products and policies and link to your website, where the customer finishes the job. Businesses can sponsor their agent and use it as the destination for ChatGPT Ads, with those placements labelled and kept separate from ChatGPT responses. Because agents are US-only for now, that ads destination is not a New Zealand option today.

You do not need to publish an agent, or run ads, to claim the business or use the insights.

What I Would Do This Week

Decide which bucket you are in: an online or service business with a website, or a local store or restaurant.
If you are in the first group, sign in to ChatGPT, open Business Hub, and search for your exact business name.
If you find the listing, claim it with the verification method you can complete cleanly. Domain TXT is often the cleanest if you control the website. Use Shopify if that is how you sell.
Finish the Persona check only when you have the right ID and business records to hand, and you are ready for a new profile to be published if that path applies.
Once you are in, add a clear description, the correct website, and any delivery or return policy you already stand behind. If you have a product catalogue, connect the feed.
Record a baseline: search a handful of the questions customers already ask, and note whether ChatGPT names you, and what it gets wrong. After insights appear, compare them with that baseline.
Leave your Google Business Profile and your website in the plan. Claiming ChatGPT does not fix a thin page, a dead booking button, or inconsistent name, address and phone details.

The listing is one source. ChatGPT can still read your site, directories and other pages. The work that helps you get named in AI answers, which we set out in GEO and AEO Explained: Get Named by ChatGPT and Google AI, still matters after you claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can New Zealand Businesses Claim Their Business on ChatGPT?

An eligible New Zealand online or service business with a website may be able to claim, or add, a listing. Local stores and restaurants can currently claim only an existing US listing.

Do I Need Shopify, Ads or ChatGPT Enterprise to Claim?

No. OpenAI says you do not need an Ads account or an Enterprise agreement. Shopify is one verification and feed option, not a requirement.

No. OpenAI says claiming lets you manage the information you provide, and that it does not guarantee increased visibility or give you direct control over ChatGPT’s independent recommendations.

Are ChatGPT Business Agents Available in New Zealand?

Not according to the current announcements. They are available to eligible ecommerce and online service businesses in the United States. OpenAI has not named a New Zealand date.

Can a Business Agent Take a Booking or a Payment?

No. The current agent can explain products and policies and link to your website. Customers complete purchases, bookings and order checks on your site.

Do I Need to Publish an Agent to Get Insights?

No. After your claim and Persona verification are approved, you can manage the profile and use available insights without publishing an agent or running ads.

Get a Free AI Visibility Check

If you want a second set of eyes on this, book a strategy call. We can treat it as a free AI visibility check: whether your business can claim a ChatGPT listing, what the profile should say, what ChatGPT already tells people about you, and what still belongs on your website and Google Business Profile.