OpenAI announced ChatGPT Wallet on 13 November, giving its dots AI agents a way to make purchases for users through a feature built with American Express, Mastercard and Visa, CNBC reported. The launch extends dots, introduced at OpenAI’s annual developer conference in late September, from finding things to buy towards paying for them. For now, the wallet is available to Pro subscribers in the United States who are over 18.
Key points
- Users save a card once and approve each purchase with an identity check.
- Payment networks supply transaction-specific tokens rather than giving agents the card details.
- OpenAI says it is taking no share of transactions at launch, while some merchants are blocking agent purchases.
Payment tokens keep card details from dots
Dots are the agents OpenAI introduced at its developer conference, where it also launched ChatGPT Space, as AI Affairs reported at the time. With Wallet, an eligible user can enter card information once, ask a dot to find something to buy and approve the purchase. That final approval remains a separate step for each transaction.
OpenAI says the agent never receives the user’s actual card details. Instead, the payment network supplies a token containing a card number with a limited scope, a security code and an expiry date for that particular transaction. It works like handing over a ticket valid for one journey rather than the pass from which it was issued: the agent gets what it needs to complete that payment without getting the underlying card details. Cardholders retain their existing rewards and protections, according to OpenAI.
Buying an item found through a search could therefore continue into payment without entering the card details again. It would still require approval for that purchase, while the agent would receive a transaction-specific token rather than the card details themselves.
The arrangement gives the three card networks a defined part in an agent purchase: they provide the payment credential the dot uses. OpenAI’s account of the flow puts the approval with the user and the transaction-specific credential with the network, rather than treating permission to search for a product as permission to pay for it.
US Pro subscribers must approve every purchase
Each purchase requires an identity check, such as Face ID or a fingerprint scan, Quartz reported. Quartz also reported that terms OpenAI published on 12 November require a US billing address and a card issued by a US financial institution, alongside the minimum age of 18. Those requirements narrow the initial availability beyond a ChatGPT Pro subscription alone.
Under the terms described by Quartz, the merchant remains the seller, while OpenAI is neither the bank nor the card issuer, payment network, lender or merchant for a wallet purchase. OpenAI does not hold the purchase funds, and requests for refunds or disputes over an order go to the merchant. The card’s rewards and protections remain available for eligible disputes, according to the company.
OpenAI says it is taking no cut of wallet transactions at launch. Chaya Nayak, who leads monetisation and payments product at the company, described the work to CNBC as an effort to build relationships with merchants and the payment networks. Luke Gebb, American Express’s executive vice-president and global head of innovation, said the restricted launch was a way to check that the feature worked before a broader rollout.
OpenAI says it expects users eventually to be able to give agents greater authority over purchases by setting limits on spending, categories or time periods, Quartz reported. That is a stated expectation rather than part of the purchase flow described for this launch, in which a person approves every transaction.
OpenAI gives merchants guidance as agents face blocks
Wallet follows earlier changes to shopping in ChatGPT. OpenAI introduced Instant Checkout in autumn 2025 before moving away from it, then rolled out a revised experience for finding and comparing products by March 2026. Nayak told CNBC that Wallet builds on the product-discovery work: once someone has found something to buy, the agent can help carry the purchase through to payment.
OpenAI introduced Businesses in ChatGPT in beta on 10 November, allowing companies to claim verified profiles and upload product feeds with prices and availability, Quartz reported. For a merchant, supplying product information and allowing an agent to reach a website are distinct parts of the process. OpenAI also published tools and guidance with Wallet, including advice on checking whether a site inadvertently blocks its agents.
Some merchants have chosen to keep agents out. United Airlines said on 11 November that it would block agents from accessing its systems to book tickets, CNBC reported. Amazon prevents agents from buying products on its platform.
