--- title: "OpenAI opens Businesses in ChatGPT to 1.2 billion weekly users and sells the sponsored agent slot" description: "Merchants now verify into ChatGPT through Shopify's own admin, and OpenAI, not Shopify, collects for the sponsored placement; Meta and OpenAI agents carried 89% of the October agent traffic HUMAN Security measured." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Applications" published: 2026-11-13T17:19:52.302Z modified: 2026-11-13T17:19:52.302Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/openai-opens-businesses-in-chatgpt-to-1-2-billion-weekly-users-and-sells-the-sponsored-agent-slot language: en keywords: "OpenAI, Shopify, AI Agents, E-commerce, Advertising" --- # OpenAI opens Businesses in ChatGPT to 1.2 billion weekly users and sells the sponsored agent slot > Merchants now verify into ChatGPT through Shopify's own admin, and OpenAI, not Shopify, collects for the sponsored placement; Meta and OpenAI agents carried 89% of the October agent traffic HUMAN Security measured. ## OpenAI opens a storefront inside ChatGPT On November 10 [OpenAI](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/openai) launched Businesses in ChatGPT in beta [1]. Companies claim a verified profile, load product feeds with prices and stock, and read aggregated insights on mentions, website clicks and the topics that surface them [1]. Eligible United States ecommerce and online service businesses can also build a Business Agent, a clearly labeled chat that answers shopper questions, and pay to sponsor that agent as a destination for ChatGPT Ads [1]. OpenAI puts the audience at 1.2 billion weekly users [1][2], and trade coverage already reads the launch as a rival to Google Business Profile [3]. ## The sponsored slot is where the money went [Walmart](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/walmart) tried the direct version first: checkout inside ChatGPT converted three times worse than click-out links, and OpenAI shut instant checkout down and moved product feeds into its Ads Manager [4]. The sponsored Business Agent slot is the replacement, and OpenAI sells it [1]. The surface is concentrating fast. HUMAN Security measured agentic browser traffic up 8x between August and October, with [Meta](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/meta)'s Muse at 59% of October agent requests and OpenAI products at 30%, about 89% between them [4]. [DataDome's separate count](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/datadome-report-agentic-browser-traffic-130000558.html) corroborates the surge: agentic browser requests jumped 4.7x in September alone, and Muse logged 29.1 million requests in its first 12 days [5]. *Chart: **Meta and OpenAI took 89 of every 100 agent requests in October** Bars ranking October 2026 AI agent request shares: Meta's Muse 59%, OpenAI products 30%, all other agents 11%* *Share of AI agent requests observed on HUMAN Security customer sites, October 2026; OpenAI products combine ChatGPT Agent, Codex Browser and the Codex Chrome extension. Source: HUMAN Security data reported by PPC Land, November 13, 2026 [4]. [4]* ## Shopify fills the shelves but cannot buy the chat [Shopify](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/shopify)'s own answer, Campaign Autopilot, charges merchants only per sale and takes the media risk, but its partner platforms are Meta, [Microsoft](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/microsoft) Advertising and [Snapchat](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/snap) [6]. "We don't currently have the open web," Samir Pradhan, Shopify's vice-president of product for merchant marketing, told [AdExchanger](https://www.adexchanger.com/commerce/shopifyautopilot/) [6]. ChatGPT sits further outside that wall than the open web does. The quarter sharpened the point: revenue rose 32% to $3.74 billion, but gross merchandise volume of $119.15 billion missed the $120.03 billion estimate and the stock fell 8.7% on November 3 [7][8]. [AI-referred orders grew 3.3x and AI traffic 2.6x](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/shopify-president-q3-first-time-071313287.html), down from 8x and nearly 13x in the first quarter, still with no dollar base disclosed [4][7], the missing denominator an earlier Inference piece flagged when [Shopify handed agents the buy button in October](https://theinference.org/article/shopify-hands-ai-agents-the-buy-button-and-merchants-the-bill). *Chart: **Revenue growth held near 31% to 34% for six quarters, then GMV missed** Line chart of Shopify quarterly revenue from Q2 2024 to Q3 2026, rising from $2.0 billion to $3.7 billion* *Shopify quarterly revenue, USD billions, Q2 2024 to Q3 2026, from SEC filings; year-over-year growth held between about 31% and 34% for the six quarters through Q3 2026, and revenue rose 32% in the quarter the stock fell 8.7% on a gross merchandise volume miss. Source: Shopify SEC filings, retrieved November 13, 2026 [8]. [8]* ## The sale can still come home Shopify is not empty-handed. [Shop Pay checkout](https://theinference.org/article/shopify-puts-shop-pay-inside-rival-ai-agents-on-visa-and-mastercard-rails-and-keeps-the-fraud-liability) has run inside Meta's Muse across Shopify stores since September 21, on Shopify's payment rails at merchants' usual rates, and President Harley Finkelstein called Q3 "the first time we saw shoppers experimenting with delegated purchasing through personal agents" [7]. The rails collect when an agent's sale completes; the placement above the checkout is sold by OpenAI. [a16z](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/a16z)'s ["Welcome to the B2A Economy" essay](https://a16z.com/welcome-to-the-b2a-economy/), posted November 10, expects agents to route traffic, tokens and revenue to whoever optimizes for them, though the firm invests in AI companies and states it did not independently verify the third-party data it charted [2][4]. ## February gives the channel its denominator Shopify reports fourth-quarter results in February, which will show whether holiday agent volume reaccelerated and whether the company finally puts a base under its AI multiples [7]. HUMAN's next agentic traffic report tests whether October's 8x held [4]. For now the agent picks the merchant, OpenAI sells the pick, and Shopify gets paid only when the sale comes home to its rails. ## Takeaway OpenAI opened a storefront inside ChatGPT to 1.2 billion weekly users and kept the ad slot for itself: Shopify merchants get the profiles and the checkout, but OpenAI sells the placement above them, and Shopify is paid only when a sale comes home to its rails. ## Sources 1. [Marketing-Interactive, OpenAI launches ChatGPT business profiles with brand insights and AI agents, 11 November 2026](https://www.marketing-interactive.com/openai-launches-chatgpt-business-profiles-with-brand-insights-and-ai-agents) 2. [Andreessen Horowitz, Welcome to the B2A Economy, Olivia Moore and Justine Moore, 10 November 2026](https://a16z.com/welcome-to-the-b2a-economy/) 3. [TechTarget, OpenAI's Businesses in ChatGPT targets enterprise trust, 11 November 2026](https://www.techtarget.com/news/openais-businesses-in-chatgpt-targets-enterprise-trust/874431/) 4. [PPC Land, a16z says firms must court AI agents as agent traffic grows 8x in two months, 13 November 2026](https://ppc.land/a16z-says-firms-must-court-ai-agents-as-agent-traffic-grows-8x-in-two-months/) 5. [Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, DataDome Report: Agentic Browser Traffic Surged Nearly 5x in a Month, 15 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/datadome-report-agentic-browser-traffic-130000558.html) 6. [AdExchanger, Shopify Noses Further Into Ad Tech With Campaign Autopilot Expansion, 10 November 2026](https://www.adexchanger.com/commerce/shopifyautopilot/) 7. [Yahoo Finance, Shopify President: Q3 Was 'the First Time' Shoppers Let AI Agents Buy. The Stock Fell 8.7% Anyway, 11 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/shopify-president-q3-first-time-071313287.html) 8. [Shopify, quarterly figures from SEC filings, retrieved 13 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001594805) --- OpenAI opens Businesses in ChatGPT to 1.2 billion weekly users and sells the sponsored agent slot — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/openai-opens-businesses-in-chatgpt-to-1-2-billion-weekly-users-and-sells-the-sponsored-agent-slot