OpenAI launches ChatGPT Wallet for agent payments in the US

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Wallet, a feature that lets AI agents make and pay for online purchases on behalf of users. It is available at launch only in the US for adults with a ChatGPT Pro subscription and an eligible US bank card, accessed through Dots. The company built it after scrapping Instant Checkout, its earlier attempt at in-chat purchases, because that approach was not flexible enough.

How payments are authorized

Users add their card once. Before every purchase, the system shows the items, the total, and the selected card. Each payment must be approved with a security check such as Face ID or a fingerprint. Neither the agent nor the online store sees the real card details; instead, American Express, Mastercard, and Visa generate a payment token, a stand-in card number with its own security code. OpenAI says existing card rewards and the usual bank protections for eligible disputes still apply. OpenAI also plans to let users hand purchases off to their agents entirely, within set spending limits, product categories, and timeframes.

Purchase flow

A purchase starts when the customer describes what they want. ChatGPT then searches the open web, APIs, or merchant product feeds for options, and the user compares them and picks one. ChatGPT completes the purchase either by using a browser on the merchant's existing website or through a plugin that supports structured actions such as managing the cart. ChatGPT can handle the entire process on its own, from product search and comparison to the final transaction. Merchants connect their existing website through browser integration or a dedicated plugin, while ChatGPT Wallet and Sign-in with ChatGPT handle payment and authentication.

Merchant integration and blockers

Many websites and payment systems still block AI agents as bots or reject their purchases for security reasons. To address that, OpenAI is releasing a Commerce Partner Playbook. The guide explains how merchants can adjust their firewalls, provide product data, and work with payment providers such as Stripe, Adyen, and Riskified so agent-driven purchases go through.

Competition

OpenAI is catching up with rivals. Anthropic's Claude Duet, Meta's Muse, and xAI's Grok Bot already have built-in payments and rely in part on single-use cards via Stripe Link. Google and Perplexity also let users buy through their own checkout tools, such as Google Pay and Instant Buy. Competitors including Anthropic, Meta, and Google already offer similar agent shopping features.

Sources: The Decoder