OpenAI announced ChatGPT Wallet on Friday, a payment feature that lets its "dots" AI agents make purchases for users, CNBC reported. It is initially available to Pro subscribers in the U.S. who are over 18. OpenAI built it with American Express, Mastercard and Visa, and cardholders keep their existing rewards and protections. Users enter card details once, ask their dot to find items and approve each purchase with a security check.
OpenAI said the agents will never access card details. According to CNBC, the payment networks give the dot a payment token holding a card number, security code and expiration date scoped to a single transaction. OpenAI said it is not taking a cut of transactions to start, and it published guidance for merchants, including how to avoid inadvertently blocking its agents.
Chaya Nayak, who leads product for monetization and payments at OpenAI, told CNBC that Wallet builds on the company's product discovery work and that "who we are speaking to here is the networks and the merchants." Luke Gebb, executive vice president and global head of innovation at American Express, said the limited rollout is intentional. CNBC noted that ChatGPT has more than 1.2 billion weekly active users, that OpenAI pivoted away from its Instant Checkout feature last year, and that United Airlines and Amazon block agents from buying on their platforms.
