What is the Agentic Commerce Protocol?

The Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) is an open standard co-developed by OpenAI and Stripe that enables AI agents to complete commercial transactions on behalf of users. It consists of three specifications: Product Feed, Agentic Checkout, and Delegated Payment.

Yes, the protocol specification is free and open source (Apache 2.0). Standard payment processing fees apply when using Stripe for payments.

Do merchants keep their customer relationships with ACP?

Yes, merchants remain the merchant of record and keep full control over customer relationships, including customer data, emails, and support.

How are payments secured in ACP?

ACP uses Shared Payment Tokens (SPTs) that are merchant-specific, amount-limited, time-limited, and single-use. The AI agent never sees actual payment credentials.

Which AI assistants support ACP?

ChatGPT supports ACP via its Instant Checkout feature. As an open standard, any AI platform can implement ACP support.

How It Works

Let’s walk through what actually happens when a customer buys something from your store using AI.

The entire shopping journey in one conversation. Discovery, selection, cart, and checkout — all in a single chat. No page loads, no form filling, no abandonment points.

The Three Players

Who	Role
Customer	Describes what they want, approves the purchase
AI (ChatGPT)	Finds products, manages the conversation, creates the order
Your Store	Provides product data, processes payment, ships the item

The AI is a middleman that never touches the money. Think of it as a digital personal shopper.

A Real Purchase, Step by Step

Step 1: Customer asks for something


👤 You: I need a birthday gift for my sister.
        She's into yoga and I want to spend about $50.

The customer describes what they want in plain English. No keywords, no filters, just a conversation.

Step 2: AI searches your catalog

Behind the scenes, ChatGPT looks through your product feed — titles, descriptions, prices, availability — and finds matches.

Step 3: AI shows options


🤖 ChatGPT: Here are three options from YogaLife Shop:

            1. Eco Cork Yoga Mat — $45
            2. Meditation Cushion Set — $52
            3. Yoga Block & Strap Kit — $38

            Want me to tell you more about any of these?

👤 You: The cork mat sounds perfect. Let's do that one.

Step 4: AI creates the order

ChatGPT contacts your store and starts a checkout session. Your store responds with the real price, shipping options, and required info.

Step 5: Customer provides shipping info


🤖 ChatGPT: Great choice! Where should I send it?

👤 You: 123 Oak Street, Portland, OR 97201

Step 6: Customer confirms and pays


🤖 ChatGPT: Here's your order:

            Eco Cork Yoga Mat      $45.00
            Shipping                $5.99
            Tax                     $4.59
            ─────────────────────────────
            Total                  $55.58

            Ship to: 123 Oak Street, Portland, OR 97201

            Should I complete this purchase?

👤 You: Yes, buy it.

This is the key moment. The AI doesn’t have the customer’s credit card. It asks Stripe for a one-time payment token that only works for your store, only for this exact amount.

Step 7: Payment goes through

The AI sends that token to your store → Your store sends it to Stripe → Stripe charges the card → Money goes to you.

At no point did the AI see the card number. At no point could it charge a different amount.

Step 8: Order confirmed


🤖 ChatGPT: All done! ✓

            Order #12345 confirmed
            Estimated delivery: December 20th

            You'll get an email with tracking info.

The order appears in your dashboard like any other. You fulfill it normally.

Another Example: Repeat Purchases


👤 You: Reorder my usual coffee

🤖 ChatGPT: Your usual is Blue Bottle Bella Donovan 12oz, correct?
            $18 with free shipping, arrives Thursday.

👤 You: Actually, get two bags this time

🤖 ChatGPT: Updated to 2 bags — $36 total. Confirm?

👤 You: Yes

🤖 ChatGPT: Done! Order placed. ✓

AI remembers preferences and makes repeat purchases effortless.

What Your Store Provides

Component	Purpose
Product Feed	So AI knows what you sell
Checkout API	So AI can create and complete orders
Stripe Account	So payment tokens work

If you’re on Shopify or Etsy, this is handled for you. Custom stores need to build these endpoints.

The Payment Networks Are Ready

Major payment networks are building infrastructure specifically for AI agent transactions:

Network	Initiative	What It Does
Mastercard	Agent Pay	Agentic Tokens for verified AI agents with spending controls
Visa	Intelligent Commerce	AI-ready cards with limits, FIDO security, and passkeys

These aren’t future concepts — they’re being built now with partners like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Stripe.

Learn more: Checkout.com explains how Mastercard and Visa are preparing for agentic commerce.

The Security Model

People worry about AI having access to their money. Here’s how it’s protected:

The AI never sees payment details. Your card is stored with Stripe, not ChatGPT.

Payment tokens are locked. Each token works for one specific store, one specific amount, one time only.

You approve every purchase. The AI always asks before charging anything.

Tokens expire fast. ~30 minutes, then they’re useless.

It’s like a signed check made out to a specific person for a specific amount. They can only deposit it exactly as written.

For Developers

Want the technical details? The Developer section has API specs, code examples, and integration guides.

Quick summary:

Product Feed → JSON endpoint returning your catalog
Checkout API → REST endpoints for session management
Payment → Stripe’s Shared Payment Tokens (SPTs)

All three specs are open source. Implement them yourself or use platform integrations.

What’s Next?

Is this right for my store?Set up your store Developer quick start