Approval for every purchase with ChatGPT Wallet

In the US, ChatGPT Wallet is rolling out in dots for Pro subscribers 18 and older. Users must approve each purchase before their agent pays.

Before an agent pays for a purchase, its user must review the items, total amount, and selected card, then approve the transaction through a security check. That mandatory step defines ChatGPT Wallet, the payment wallet developed with American Express, Mastercard, and Visa. The rollout begins in dots, OpenAI’s agents, for ChatGPT Pro subscribers aged 18 and older in the United States with eligible US-issued cards.

Users register their card once. After each approval, the payment network provides a token containing substitute payment credentials: a card number, security code, and expiration date. The agent uses those credentials to pay, while the purchase is charged to the selected card. According to the announcement, the actual card details are shared with neither the agent nor the merchant.

The security check may use facial recognition through Face ID or a fingerprint scan. Each approval is intended to create a record of the authorized purchase. Registering a card does not grant ongoing permission to spend.

The transaction still takes place directly between the buyer and the merchant. The merchant retains control over pricing, fulfillment, returns, and customer service. According to OpenAI, existing card rewards remain available, along with protections for eligible disputes, such as when a product is defective.

Providing a payment method does not, however, guarantee that an order will go through on every website. Anti-bot protections may prevent the agent from navigating a site, while a fraud detection system may decline a transaction that the buyer has authorized. The company acknowledges these difficulties and describes the limited initial rollout as an opportunity to improve compatibility with payment networks, banks, and businesses.

A Commerce Partner Playbook accompanies the launch to help merchants adapt their existing systems. For website navigation, the recommendations cover recognizing signed agent requests through Web Bot Auth and configuring site security systems, including firewalls and content delivery networks. Browser access requires neither a plugin nor a product catalog submitted to ChatGPT.

Product information is another area of work. After verifying their business in ChatGPT, merchants can update their business details and submit a product feed containing prices and availability. Businesses that want to give agents additional ways to act can develop a plugin to check inventory or manage shopping carts. Adding WebMCP tools to a website is another option outlined in the announcement.

Work with payment and fraud prevention providers is intended to help their systems recognize legitimate purchases made by agents. The collaborators named include Adyen, Checkout.com, and Stripe for payments, alongside Forter, Riskified, Sardine, and Signifyd for fraud prevention. Their participation does not guarantee acceptance by every merchant using those services.

Broader purchasing delegation is planned for the future. Users could set spending limits, categories, or a time period, then approve purchases meeting those conditions in advance, with enhanced safeguards. No timeline accompanies that scenario. At launch, each payment still requires separate approval.