OpenAI launched ChatGPT Wallet on Friday, allowing its AI agents to purchase products using American Express, Mastercard, and Visa cards. The system enables agents to complete online transactions without accessing customers' actual card numbers and does not involve cryptocurrency.
The wallet operates through dots, OpenAI's always-on AI assistants that can browse websites and complete tasks for users. Customers save an eligible card and approve each payment using a security check such as a fingerprint or Face ID. After approval, the card network generates a payment token with substitute card details, which the agent submits through the merchant's standard checkout system. Customers retain applicable card rewards and dispute protections.
The rollout is limited to ChatGPT Pro subscribers aged 18 or older in the United States with eligible U.S.-issued cards. Every purchase currently requires user approval, and the wallet is available only in dots conversations, not ordinary ChatGPT chats.
This approach differs from OpenAI's earlier Instant Checkout with Stripe, introduced in September 2025. ChatGPT Wallet allows agents to navigate ordinary online stores and use existing checkout forms without requiring businesses to build special integrations.
OpenAI introduced business profiles three days before the Wallet launch, enabling companies to update product information and connect with potential customers through ChatGPT. Google is pursuing a competing approach through its Universal Commerce Protocol, launched in January, which aims to connect shopping agents with retailers, payment providers, and post-purchase services.
Alternative Routes Using Stablecoins
Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets in February, giving software the ability to spend USDC, trade tokens, and pay for online services within preset limits. The product functions primarily as developer infrastructure rather than a consumer checkout feature. Coinbase's x402 protocol enables software to pay for data or computing services as part of web requests, often using the USDC stablecoin, making small transactions possible without requiring agent card entry or human approval each time.
Circle, a stablecoin issuer, launched its Agent Stack in May, which includes stablecoin wallets and tools for payments as small as $0.000001.
However, actual agent-driven demand remains difficult to measure. In September, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs estimated that agents accounted for only 0.6% to 7.5% of filtered x402 commerce by value, using models that cannot conclusively distinguish agents from scripts.
OpenAI plans to allow users to authorize future purchases within spending limits or specified categories, though no timeline for this feature has been announced. The company warns that merchant websites may block shopping agents or flag legitimate Wallet purchases as fraud.
