OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Wallet, a payment feature that lets its "dots" AI agents make purchases on behalf of users, the company announced on Friday. The service was built in partnership with American Express, Mastercard and Visa.
Users enter their card information once. When an agent finds an item, the user reviews the total and approves the transaction with a biometric security check. The payment networks generate a tokenized card number, security code and expiration date, so the merchant and agent do not receive the user's actual card details.
"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.
OpenAI has pushed deeper into AI-enabled commerce over the last year, including an “Instant Checkout” feature last fall that it quickly pivoted away from. By March, it had rolled out a revamped shopping experience. Global agentic commerce transaction value is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, according to Juniper Research. Other efforts in the space include Google's Agent Payments Protocol, introduced in 2025, Coinbase's x402 protocol and Circle's Agent Stack.
ChatGPT Wallet is initially available only to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the United States who are at least 18. OpenAI said the limited rollout allows it to learn from real-world use and work with businesses and payment networks on compatibility. Luke Gebb, executive vice president and global head of innovation at Amex, described the limited rollout as the “right approach to make sure things are working.” Gebb said that, with ChatGPT supporting more than 1.2 billion weekly active users, OpenAI can decide to “turn up the volume” on Wallet when it wants to.
OpenAI is not taking a cut of transactions at launch. The company published guidance to help merchants avoid inadvertently blocking its agents. United Airlines said it would block agents from accessing its systems to book tickets, while Amazon prevents agents from purchasing products on its platform.
OpenAI plans to eventually support purchases within preset spending limits, letting agents complete transactions without requiring approval for each purchase.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Turns ChatGPT into a transaction platform, creating a potential new revenue stream for OpenAI and deepening user engagement.
- Pushes autonomous AI agents further into consumers' daily lives, moving from recommendations to executive actions.
- Partners with legacy financial networks, embedding agent payments within existing regulatory and commercial systems.
Background
ChatGPT Wallet is a new feature from OpenAI that allows its "dots" AI agents to purchase goods and services on behalf of users. It relies on tokenization through Visa, Mastercard and Amex to secure transactions. The feature builds on OpenAI's earlier attempts at commerce, including a quickly abandoned Instant Checkout feature and a revamped shopping tool. It reflects a broader industry push towards agentic commerce, a market expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.
Key Perspectives
OpenAI: Says the wallet sets a "new bar for secure payments by agents" and is starting with limited availability to learn from real-world use before expanding.
American Express (via Luke Gebb): Describes the limited rollout as the "right approach" and notes that with OpenAI's broad user base, it can scale the feature when ready.
What to Watch
- Merchant adoption: whether retailers follow United and Amazon in blocking agents, or work with OpenAI's integration tools.
- Expansion beyond the United States and Pro tier.
- Whether OpenAI eventually introduces a transaction fee, which would signal a major new revenue line.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 3 sources: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedOpenAI launched ChatGPT Wallet, which lets its “dots” agents make purchases on users’ behalf.US Top News and Analysis: “OpenAI on Friday announced ChatGPT Wallet, a new payment feature that enables its "dots" artificial intelligence agents to make purchases on behalf of users.”
- SupportedOpenAI built the feature in partnership with American Express, Mastercard and Visa.US Top News and Analysis: “The company built ChatGPT Wallet in partnership with American Express , Mastercard and Visa”
- SupportedOpenAI announced the feature on Friday.US Top News and Analysis: “OpenAI on Friday announced ChatGPT Wallet”
- SupportedChaya Nayak told CNBC: “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.”US Top News and Analysis: “"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 in an interview.”
- SupportedUsers enter card information once, then review the purchase and approve it with a security check; the payment token gives the merchant and agent substitute card details rather than the user’s actual card details.9to5Mac: “After the user approves, the payment network provides a payment token—a substitute for the user’s actual card details—with a card number, security code, and expiration date. The payment is charged to their selected card without ChatGPT Wallet sharing their actual card details with the business or agent.”
- SupportedChatGPT Wallet is initially limited to US ChatGPT Pro subscribers who are at least 18.9to5Mac: “To start, ChatGPT Wallet is only available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers who are 18 or older in the United States.”
- SupportedOpenAI said the limited rollout is intended to help it learn from real-world use and work with businesses and payment networks on compatibility.9to5Mac: ““We’re starting with limited availability to ChatGPT Pro users,” OpenAI explains, “so we can learn from real-world use and work with businesses, banks, and payment networks to improve compatibility and reliability.””
- SupportedGlobal agentic commerce transaction value is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, according to Juniper Research.Cointelegraph.com News: “Global agentic commerce transaction value is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, according to an April report from Juniper Research”
- SupportedLuke Gebb described the limited rollout as the “right approach to make sure things are working.”US Top News and Analysis: “The limited rollout is intentional, and the "right approach to make sure things are working," said Luke Gebb”
- SupportedGebb said ChatGPT has more than 1.2 billion weekly active users and that OpenAI can decide to “turn up the volume” on Wallet when it wants to.US Top News and Analysis: “OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot supports more than 1.2 billion weekly active users and nearly 100 million paying users as of the end of the third quarter. With such a broad user base, Gebb said OpenAI can decide to "turn up the volume" on ChatGPT Wallet when it wants to.”
- SupportedOpenAI is not taking a cut of Wallet transactions at launch.US Top News and Analysis: “the company said it is not taking a cut of transactions to start.”
- SupportedOpenAI plans to support purchases within preset spending limits that do not require approval for each transaction.Cointelegraph.com News: “OpenAI said it plans to eventually support purchases within preset spending limits and other restrictions without requiring approval for each transaction.”
