OpenAI is launching a series of new features aimed at making ChatGPT a better consumer discovery engine, while also helping businesses control how users interact with their services.

The company launched Business Hub on Tuesday, which allows businesses to create business profiles within it. This feature is largely similar to the profile pages already provided by Google and other search engines, enabling businesses to verify and update information about their products and services. Currently, this feature is in the testing phase.

Companies that meet the requirements can also create and launch a dedicated business agent, allowing ChatGPT users to ask questions about the company and its products.

OpenAI indicates that as people turn to AI to discover products, compare options, and make decisions, ChatGPT has become a platform where individuals and businesses can connect through AI. Today's announcement is an early step in taking businesses more deeply into ChatGPT.

This move also reminds people of Google's Analytics. Business Hub will also provide users with limited business insights, which will show how ChatGPT users interact with its products, including page views, business mentions, website clicks, and other metrics.

OpenAI previously attempted to position ChatGPT as an e-commerce center, allowing users to purchase products directly. This plan adopted a commission-based billing model and was seen as a potential significant source of revenue; it also could have enabled ChatGPT to compete more directly with Amazon. However, this project never really took off, and the company terminated these efforts in March, which included a "shopping cart for checkout" feature as well.

With the integration of corporate information and business insights, ChatGPT seems to be trying to become more like Google. Since the birth of the Internet, Google has always been the go-to place for online users looking to learn about companies they want to shop from. It remains to be seen whether this new initiative will achieve better results than previous attempts to transform ChatGPT into a direct e-commerce center.