OpenAI launches ChatGPT Wallet, lets AI agents shop using your credit card

After introducing Dots AI agents by the end of September this year, OpenAI has now announced ChatGPT Wallet for these agents. With this move, Dots AI agents can now actually buy stuff for users. The idea is, tell your AI agent what you want, and then it will find the product by itself and get the purchase ready, then you approve the payment yourself.For those who don’t know, OpenAI’s Dots AI agents are similar to Meta’s Muse agents, which became a massive viral hit after its September 8 launch. Both of these are always-on, autonomous AI agents that run on dedicated cloud computers, remember long-term context, and complete tasks in the background after you close the app.Now, OpenAI announced ChatGPT Wallet, saying it is designed to make agent-led shopping easier and safer. Notably, it is initially for ChatGPT Pro subscribers aged 18 or older in the US with eligible US-issued cards.To get started, users can add their credit card once and allow their Dots agents to use it when shopping online. However, the agent cannot simply go on a shopping spree. Before every purchase, users must review the items, total amount and selected card, and approve the transaction through a security check such as Face ID or a fingerprint scan. OpenAI says ChatGPT Wallet is “the first wallet that lets agents pay without access to users’ actual card details” while requiring a security check for every purchase. Each approval also creates a “clear record of the purchase the user authorised the agent to make.”Your actual card details stay hiddenOne important safeguard the company shared is that ChatGPT Wallet does not share the user's actual card information with the AI agent or the retailer. Instead, the payment network generates a token, which acts as a substitute for the card details. This is similar to how tokenised payments work in digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet. The company has partnered with American Express, Mastercard and Visa for the feature. OpenAI says its goal is to build a payment system that works with existing websites and checkout systems.OpenAI wants AI agents to shop without asking youFor now, users must approve every purchase. But OpenAI has a bigger plan. The company expects users to eventually “delegate purchases entirely to their agent” by setting spending limits, purchase categories or time periods and pre-approving transactions with additional safeguards.There is one hurdle, though. Some websites block AI agents from shopping altogether, while payment systems may mistake legitimate agent purchases for suspicious activity.OpenAI says it is working with businesses, banks and payment providers to make agent-led shopping more reliable. In other words, the future of AI shopping may depend not just on smarter agents, but also on whether online stores are willing to let them through the checkout.- Ends