Claim your business on ChatGPT for free? You’ll need to verify your identity to manage it

Claiming a business profile on ChatGPT is currently free. But anyone who wants to publish business details or view analytics must verify their identity through Persona—and may need to provide an ID. Bob Ballings, who tried to register his company Promptoloog, stopped at that step.

Ballings wrote on LinkedIn that he entered his company name and domain, then saw a draft profile. When he clicked “Edit business details,” he was sent to Persona for identity verification. According to Ballings, the process asked him to provide a copy of his ID and biometric data. “That’s where I draw the line,” he wrote.

A DNS record proves that you have access to a domain’s settings. To create one, you add a short text string to your domain configuration. OpenAI’s Business Hub guide also lists other verification options. Depending on the business, you may be able to receive a code at a business phone number or email address, or connect your Shopify store.

Persona’s next step verifies the person who wants to manage the profile. OpenAI may also ask for company registration details or proof that you’re authorized to act on the business’s behalf.

According to Persona’s privacy policy, the service may request a photo of an identity document and a selfie during verification. With explicit consent, Persona can compare facial features in the two images to check that the document belongs to the applicant. Under Article 9 of the GDPR, stricter rules apply when an organization uses biometric data to uniquely identify someone.

Persona says the organization commissioning the check decides what data the service collects, who can access it and how long it is retained. Public product documentation does not make clear how long Persona keeps an ID photo or any facial scan for Business Hub, or what information OpenAI itself receives.

LinkedIn also uses Persona for identity checks. Its Help Center lists the information it receives, including the name on the ID and the type of document.

OpenAI launched Business Hub on November 10, just days after the first images of the dashboard surfaced. The beta is also open to eligible online businesses outside the United States. For now, local shops and restaurants can claim only an existing U.S. listing.

Once approved, businesses can update their description, website and logo. Users can open the profile from a ChatGPT response that features the business.

The dashboard shows appearances and website clicks over the past 28 days, provided there is enough activity. For an online business, OpenAI counts an appearance when ChatGPT links to its website. The system decides which businesses to recommend in a response.

Business Hub’s terms say OpenAI can create and display a business profile even if no one claims it. Anyone who submits basic details—such as a business name, website and opening hours—for public display grants OpenAI a perpetual, irrevocable license to use that information for the service.

OpenAI automatically publishes a new profile created through Persona once it approves the application. According to the Help Center, Business Hub lets you delete only an unpublished draft.