Just over a month ago, OpenAI launched dots, autonomous AI agents powered by its new GPT-6 Astra model. The whole idea is to offload step-by-step tasks and let users get chores done by having the AI agents perform them on their behalf. Today, the company is making a major announcement with ChatGPT Wallet, which allows dots to go shopping for you, so users don’t have to jump back and forth between shopping apps and websites.
ChatGPT Wallet has been developed in partnership with Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, and it’s now rolling out to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the US. There’s an age limit of 18, and the agent-powered shopping experience only works with eligible cards issued in the US. Users will still have the final say when it comes to approving a transaction, and they can add a biometric layer to the whole experience, such as authentication using Face ID on their iPhones or a fingerprint scan.
OpenAI pitches ChatGPT Wallet as a more secure and convenient way of buying stuff online. Once you add a card to ChatGPT Wallet, you don’t have to enter your payment details each time you want to buy a product. Notably, the company claims this is the first wallet that lets an AI agent pay without ever accessing your actual card details, while also requiring a security check for every purchase. Moreover, you keep your card’s existing rewards, as well as its protections for eligible disputes, such as when an item turns out to be defective.
The shopping experience seems pretty convenient, or at least that’s what the demo video shows. All you have to do is chat with your dot and tell it about your shopping idea or preference. Based on the memory ChatGPT has built about you, the dot recommends some products, and once you give it the go-ahead, it adds the product to the cart. It then sends you a final summary of the items, the total, and the selected card, which you approve with a security check such as Face ID or a fingerprint scan, before the dot completes the transaction using the card saved in ChatGPT Wallet.
OpenAI says each approval creates a clear record of the purchase that the user authorized the dot to make. Once the approval is granted, the payment network issues a payment token, a substitute for your real card details, which comes with its own card number, security code, and expiration date. OpenAI claims ChatGPT Wallet never shares your actual card details with the seller or the dot.