OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Wallet, a payment feature enabling its "dots" AI agents to conduct purchases on behalf of users, partnering with American Express, Mastercard and Visa.
Cardholders retain existing credit card rewards and protections. Users enter card information once, allowing their dot agent to locate and purchase items. Each transaction requires approval through a security check.
OpenAI's dots agents do not access user card details directly. Instead, payment networks supply a payment token containing a scoped card number, security code and expiration date specific to each transaction.
"Our objective is to build a secure, user-friendly foundation with merchants and network partners," said Chaya Nayak, OpenAI's head of product for monetization and payments. The company is not taking a transaction cut in the initial launch.
The move reflects OpenAI's strategy to cultivate merchant relationships and position itself as a shopping platform as vendors experiment with personal AI agents. OpenAI launched dots agents in late September, as consumers increasingly use personal AI agents for tasks like calendar management and travel booking.
OpenAI's prior e-commerce efforts struggled. The company launched an Instant Checkout feature last fall and discontinued it quickly. By March, it had rolled out a revamped shopping experience focused on product discovery.
Nayak framed ChatGPT Wallet as the next step after product discovery, guiding users to purchase once they find something they want to buy.
Initially, ChatGPT Wallet is available to OpenAI's Pro subscribers in the U.S. who are 18 or older. Luke Gebb, American Express executive vice president and global head of innovation, called the controlled rollout "the right approach to make sure things are working." He said OpenAI can scale volume when ready given its broad user base.
OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot supports more than 1.2 billion weekly active users. The platform has nearly 100 million paying users as of the end of the third quarter, providing substantial merchant reach.
