OpenAI Is Building a Search Console for ChatGPT: What Contractors Should Do

OpenAI is building a tool that lets a business claim its listing in ChatGPT and track how often it gets mentioned and clicked. It is not public yet. Until it launches, the way to see what ChatGPT says about your plumbing or HVAC company is to ask it yourself, then fix what is wrong at the source.

What is OpenAI building for businesses in ChatGPT?

According to Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable, OpenAI is developing a Search Console-style tool that lets businesses manage and track their performance in ChatGPT. The pitch is "Claim your business in ChatGPT." It reportedly covers mentions, business info you control, and a business agent that answers customer questions.

Barry's report lists three things the tool is meant to do:

• Show you how your business appears, by tracking how often it is mentioned in ChatGPT conversations.
• Let you keep your business info and offerings up to date.
• Let a business agent answer customer questions using context you control.

The details come from Juozas Kaziukėnas, who spotted the feature and posted about it on LinkedIn. He says it measures impressions and clicks. That means how many times a business appeared in ChatGPT responses, and how many times people clicked through to its website. It tracks those events daily and shows them as a chart.

He says he saw the first steps as early as August, and a banner on November 6, 2026 suggested launch is getting close.

If you have ever opened Google Search Console, you know the idea. It is a dashboard that shows whether the thing you care about is going up or down.

Can I claim my business in ChatGPT today?

Not as far as the reporting shows. The tool is a work in progress. Kaziukėnas says it is part of a larger Business Hub feature, available only to businesses that have verified ownership, for example by connecting a Shopify store. Nothing public says how a local service business would verify.

That last part matters for us. A plumber does not have a Shopify store. A furnace repair company probably does not either.

I do not know how OpenAI will let a service business prove it owns its listing. The source does not say, and I will not guess. Maybe it ties to a website, maybe a phone number, maybe something else.

So here is my advice. If someone emails or calls you this month selling "ChatGPT claiming" for your business, be skeptical. As of the November 6 report, the tool had not launched.

What will the ChatGPT analytics tool not tell you?

Based on what has been seen so far, it will not show prompt data, user data, or any competitor benchmark or ranking. You would see impressions and clicks, not the questions homeowners asked or who got recommended instead of you. It tells you whether the number moved. It does not tell you why.

Kaziukėnas said as much. Because it lacks prompt data, it will not explain why mentions or clicks go up or down. But combined with outside tools that track prompts, he says, it would give accurate first-party data on whether GEO and AEO strategies are working.

GEO and AEO are just fancy names for getting AI tools to mention and recommend your business. Same goal as local SEO, new place to show up.

Here is what that looks like for a contractor. You see a chart. It goes up in a month where you cleaned up your Google profile and answered every review. Or it goes flat. You have a signal, but you do not have the full story.

That is still useful. Right now, most owners have no signal at all.

How do I check what ChatGPT says about my business right now?

Open ChatGPT and ask the questions a homeowner would ask, using your city and your trade. Write down who gets named, what is said about you, and what is wrong. It costs nothing and takes about ten minutes. That is more than most owners do about this today.

Here is the process:

1. Ask three to five real questions. For example: who is a good emergency plumber in your city, who fixes a furnace that will not start, or who does honest AC repair near you.
2. Write down every business ChatGPT names, and whether you are one of them.
3. If you show up, read what it says. Check your services, hours, service area and phone number.
4. If you do not show up, note who does. Then look at their Google profile and reviews and compare them to yours.
5. Repeat once a month and keep the notes. A pattern tells you more than a single answer.

Keep in mind that AI answers can change from one ask to the next. One bad answer is not a crisis. The same wrong answer three months in a row is a to-do item.

If you would rather not do this by hand, we built the AI Visibility Report for exactly this check.

Want to see how a short walkthrough of the tool looks? This three-minute video covers the analytics and citations tool this article is about.

What should plumbers and HVAC companies fix before the tool launches?

Fix the basics a homeowner and a machine both read: your Google Business Profile, your reviews and your website. I cannot tell you from this source what ChatGPT weighs most. But wrong hours, a missing service or unanswered reviews cost you jobs with real people today, so fix them either way.

Start with the Google profile. Check that your categories, services, hours, service area and phone number are right and match your website. The tool's own promise is to help you "keep your business info up to date," which tells you where OpenAI thinks the problem sits. Wrong or stale information is the problem. Our Google Profile Audit walks through the basics.

Next, reviews. Reply to them, the good and the bad. A reply to a bad review is not for the angry customer. It is for the next homeowner reading it, and I would bet it is read by more than people.

Last, your website. Make sure each service you sell has its own page that says what you do and where you do it, in plain words. Water heater replacement. Mini-split installation. Sewer line camera inspection. If you do not say it clearly, nobody can repeat it accurately.

None of this is new. It is the same work that has always made local search pay off. What is new is a second place where the results will be measured.

If you want a quick starting point, get your free Local Visibility Score.

Is this the same as ChatGPT ads?

No. The report says the tool appears separate from ChatGPT ads and is designed for organic ChatGPT responses. That makes it about how your business shows up without paying for placement. Ads are a different product. Organic mentions are earned the slow way, with accurate information and a good reputation.

That is the part contractors should pay attention to. Paid placement can be bought later if you want it. A reputation cannot be bought in a week.

I have seen the same pattern with Google for years. The shops that kept their profile clean and their reviews fresh were the ones in good shape when anything changed. I expect the same here.

Should I wait for the tool before doing anything?

No. Waiting costs you. The tool is not live, it will not explain why your numbers move, and the work that moves them is work you can start this week. When the dashboard arrives, you want a clean profile and a baseline from your own monthly checks, not a blank page.

Here is the short version of the plan. Ask ChatGPT the questions your customers ask. Write down what comes back. Fix the Google profile, the reviews and the service pages. Check again next month. When the tool launches, add its chart to your notes.

That is not hype and it is not complicated. It is just a habit most of your competitors do not have yet.

Common questions

Will the ChatGPT tool show me which homeowners found me?

No, based on the report. It reportedly shows impressions and clicks as a daily chart, but not prompt data or user data. You would know how often your business appeared and was clicked, not who asked or what exactly they typed.

Does a ChatGPT business listing replace my Google Business Profile?

Nothing in the report says that. It describes a separate tool for ChatGPT, tied to a Business Hub feature. Your Google Business Profile still matters where homeowners search on Google and Maps, so keep it accurate and keep working it.

Do I need a Shopify store to claim my business?

The report's example of verifying ownership was connecting a Shopify store. It does not say how a local service business like a plumber or HVAC company would verify. Wait for OpenAI to publish the process before paying anyone to do it for you.

How often should I check what ChatGPT says about my business?

Once a month is enough for most owners. AI answers can vary between asks, so look for patterns across several questions and several months. If the same mistake keeps showing up, fix the source of it, usually your profile or website.