BizCover says its ChatGPT-powered app went live this morning, weeks after AUB Group CEO Mike Emmett revealed it was waiting for OpenAI to approve release of the tool.

“The app is now available for all Australian small business owners looking to easily compare quotes, switch and save on their business insurance,” the AUB-backed intermediary announced on LinkedIn.

Businesses can also proceed with purchases via the app.

“With cover available for thousands of occupations, BizCover makes it easy to find the right protection for your business in minutes,” the group says on the ChatGPT app.

BizCover co-founder and CEO Michael Gottlieb says the app is “not a chatbot add-on. It’s a fully embedded quoting pathway operating inside a generative AI ecosystem. We see generative AI as the next interface layer for financial services.”

Broking stocks including AUB and Steadfast fell sharply last month when ChatGPT-driven insurance apps appeared for the first time, offering quotes and options to buy cover.

Investors feared AI apps posed risks to the intermediary business model.

Morningstar analyst Nathan Zaia said in a follow-up report that BizCover “seemingly already provides the competitive pressure that the market is spooked about. The business is 40% owned by AUB Group and targets smaller business, which often have less complex insurance needs.”

He said BizCover had built a contestable platform where customers enter basic details, compare quotes from insurers and purchase cover.

“In other words, the threat AI poses to business insurance already exists in the shape of BizCover, and while the business is growing strongly, it is likely taking share from customers who historically went direct to the insurer.”