OpenAI launches ChatGPT Wallet so AI agents can shop

OpenAI on Friday, Nov. 13, introduced ChatGPT Wallet, a payment feature that lets its "dots" AI agents buy things on a user's behalf. The company built it with American Express ↗ 0.35%, Mastercard ↗ 1.36% and Visa ↗ 1.46%. The launch carries OpenAI's shopping push past product discovery and into checkout. For now it is limited to U.S. ChatGPT Pro subscribers aged 18 and older who have eligible U.S.-issued cards, and the company describes agentic commerce as still in its "early days".cnbc.com+1

How purchases work

Users add a card once. Before each purchase they review the items, the total and the selected card, then approve it with a security check such as Face ID or a fingerprint scan. Once a purchase is approved, the payment network issues a payment token in place of the real card details, with its own card number, security code and expiration date, so neither the merchant nor the agent ever sees the actual card. CNBC reported that each token is scoped to a single transaction, and that cardholders keep their existing rewards and protections. The wallet's terms say OpenAI is not a bank, card issuer or merchant for these purchases and does not hold the funds. Refunds and order disputes go to the merchant.openai.com+2

OpenAI said that over time it expects users to be able to hand purchases entirely to an agent within limits they set, such as spending caps, purchase categories or time periods.openai.com

No cut of sales yet

OpenAI is not taking a share of transactions at launch. Instead it is focused on building relationships with merchants. "Our goal here is to really focus on merchants and our network partners and start building out a really great foundation that's safe and easy to use," Chaya Nayak, who leads product for monetization and payments at OpenAI, told CNBC. Amex's Luke Gebb said the small rollout is intentional and the "right approach to make sure things are working".cnbc.com

The wallet follows earlier commerce efforts that struggled. OpenAI moved away from an Instant Checkout feature it launched last fall and released a redesigned shopping experience in March. On Tuesday it opened Businesses in ChatGPT in beta, which lets companies claim verified profiles and upload product feeds.qz.com+1

Merchants remain wary

Not every retailer wants AI agents buying from it. United Airlines ↘ 0.05% said this week it will block agents from booking tickets, and Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.81% does not let them buy on its platform. Alongside the wallet, OpenAI published a Commerce Partner Playbook that tells businesses how to avoid accidentally blocking agents and how to work with fraud and payment providers, including Adyen, Riskified ↘ 1.06% and Stripe, so that legitimate agent purchases are recognized.cnbc.com+1

"It's going to take time for the ecosystem to build the right infrastructure to be able to make this experience really amazing and seamless across all of their sites," Nayak said.cnbc.com