OpenAI is rolling out a suite of new tools aimed at helping businesses manage how they appear and interact with users inside ChatGPT, as the company works to position the platform as a stronger engine for consumer discovery.

At the center of the announcement is a new Business Hub, unveiled on Tuesday, which gives companies a dedicated space to build business profiles. The setup closely mirrors the kind of profiles already offered by Google and other search engines, letting enterprises verify and update details about their products and services. The feature is currently in beta.

Qualifying companies will also be able to build and launch a specialized business agent, which allows ChatGPT users to ask questions about the business and its offerings. "As people turn to AI to discover products, compare options and make decisions, ChatGPT has become the platform for people and businesses to connect through AI," the company said on Tuesday. "Today's announcement is an early step in bringing businesses more deeply into ChatGPT."

The Business Hub will additionally provide access to a limited set of business insights, reminiscent of Google Analytics. These insights will show how ChatGPT users engage with a company's products, including profile views, business mentions, website clicks, and other metrics. Companies will need to verify their profiles through a formal process, though the company declined to detail what that process involves. Benji Shomair, VP of Monetization, told journalists on Monday that there are "multiple verification methods that we use for different types of business in different markets."

This isn't OpenAI's first attempt at turning ChatGPT into a commercial destination. Previously, the company tried positioning ChatGPT as an e-commerce hub where users could purchase products directly, using a commission fee system. That effort was seen as a potentially major revenue stream and a way to make ChatGPT a more direct rival to Amazon. But the project never gained traction, and in March the company retired it—even though it had included a "checkout cart" feature.

With the addition of business profiles and intelligence, ChatGPT now appears to be moving in a direction closer to Google, which has long been the destination for web users seeking to learn about the companies they want to shop from. Whether this initiative fares better than the earlier push to make ChatGPT a direct e-commerce hub remains to be seen.