ChatGPT Is Building a Tool to Show Brands How Often They Get Mentioned
OpenAI is testing a new dashboard that tells businesses how often ChatGPT talks about them and how many people click through to their website because of it.
What happened
OpenAI is working on a feature that lets businesses see their own mention counts inside ChatGPT. The tool is part of a bigger project called Business Hub, which has not launched yet. Juozas Kaziukėnas, who runs a research firm called Marketplace Pulse, shared a screenshot of the feature on LinkedIn on November 6 after spotting a banner for it.
The banner invites businesses to "claim" their listing in ChatGPT, according to two sources familiar with how it works. Once a business claims its spot, it can track how often it gets mentioned and update its own product and business details. Claiming the listing also unlocks something OpenAI calls a business agent. This is a tool that answers customer questions using information the business provides.
To get access, a business has to prove it actually represents the company it is claiming. Kaziukėnas said one way to do this is by linking a Shopify store.
The dashboard tracks impressions and clicks on a daily chart. But it does not show everything a marketer might want. It keeps user prompts hidden, does not share user data, and does not rank a business against its competitors. That puts it well behind what Google already offers advertisers. Kaziukėnas says he first noticed signs of this feature back in August.
Why other companies are watching closely
This site exists to explain stories like this one in plain terms, for people who are busy and smart but new to the subject. You should not need a dictionary to understand what AI companies are doing with your data or your business listings, and this story is a good example of why that matters.
There is already a market of companies that help brands understand their visibility on ChatGPT. Firms like Profound and AdthenaHQ run large batches of prompts through the chatbot and study the results. None of them have access to OpenAI's actual internal counts. But OpenAI's new dashboard also leaves out the prompt-level detail and competitor rankings those outside tools sell. Kaziukėnas expects both approaches to work together, with outside tools tracking the prompts and OpenAI's own numbers showing whether a company's visibility strategy is working.
Technically, this mention dashboard is separate from ChatGPT's ad business, since it covers organic answers, not paid ones. But the ad side may benefit the most. Once a business can see its ChatGPT mentions climb or drop each day, it will want that number to go up. And the easiest way to boost it, according to the article, is to pay for a placement next to the answer.
Google used this same approach years ago. It gave businesses free tools like Business Profile and Search Console to show them how they were doing, and those tools became easy doors for Google's sales teams to walk through and sell ads. OpenAI already has a self-serve ad manager and a tracking pixel. Business Hub would complete the picture by covering the organic side too.
Ads on ChatGPT started testing in the U.S. in February. By September, OpenAI said it had hit a $1 billion annualized run rate in under 200 days. By late October, OpenAI said more than 100,000 advertisers had run campaigns across 89 countries. To keep that growth going, OpenAI needs to bring in businesses that have never bought a ChatGPT ad before. A claimed listing gives the company a direct line to exactly those businesses.
What this means for you
- If you run a business, keep an eye out for Business Hub. It may soon let you check how often ChatGPT mentions your company.
- Don't expect full detail right away. The early version won't show you user prompts, competitor comparisons, or raw user data.
- If you already use outside tools to track your AI visibility, know that OpenAI's own numbers may end up working alongside them, not replacing them.
- Watch for ad pitches. Once you can see your mention count, you may also start seeing offers to boost it with paid placement.
Keep an eye out for official word from OpenAI on when Business Hub actually launches, since nothing here is final yet.
Source: Digiday
