OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce API Is Set to Shape the Future of Conversational Shopping

The integration of commerce capabilities into conversational AI is revolutionizing digital shopping. OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce API allows merchants to embed their entire shopping experience within ChatGPT, reducing friction for both buyers and sellers. This approach brings product discovery, ordering, and payment directly into the conversation, making every step intuitive and secure.

Building a Reliable Product Feed

Success with the Commerce API starts with sharing a comprehensive, up-to-date product feed. Merchants provide structured data (including product identifiers, descriptions, pricing, availability, and media) using secure feeds in formats like TSV, CSV, XML, or JSON. These feeds are routinely refreshed, often as frequently as every 15 minutes, to ensure accuracy and inventory integrity.

• Required fields underpin accurate display, search, and checkout functions.
  
  
• Enhanced attributes such as customer reviews and rich media help products stand out and foster consumer trust within ChatGPT.
  
  
• Feeds are integrated via encrypted HTTPS and validated with sample uploads before going live.

Simplifying Orders with Agentic Checkout

The Agentic Checkout Spec lets ChatGPT serve as the user’s purchasing agent, guiding them through a secure and streamlined checkout. During this process, ChatGPT gathers buyer and fulfillment information, then interacts directly with the merchant’s system to establish a checkout session.

• ChatGPT sends all relevant details to the merchant’s checkout endpoints, facilitating real-time updates.
  
  
• Merchants retain control over order validation, available shipping methods, tax calculations, and fraud checks.
  
  
• The merchant communicates order acceptance or decline back to ChatGPT, which then informs the user within the conversational interface.
  
  
• Full checkout and payment control remains with the merchant, ensuring business continuity and compliance with security standards.

Ensuring Secure Payments with Delegated Payment Spec

With the Delegated Payment Spec, merchants retain their role as merchant of record and use their preferred payment service providers (PSPs). OpenAI’s platform does not process payments itself, focusing instead on facilitating secure, delegated payment requests.

• OpenAI creates a one-time payment request with a defined amount and expiry based on the user's cart.
  
  
• This request is securely routed to the merchant’s PSP, which processes the transaction and returns a payment token.
  
  
• OpenAI passes this token to the merchant, completing the transaction as per merchant specifications.
  
  
• Stripe’s Shared Payment Token is the first supported solution, with further PSP integrations in development.
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• Network tokenization is available for eligible cards, offering an extra layer of security for consumers.

For merchants and PSPs meeting PCI DSS level 1 requirements, there are direct integration pathways with OpenAI, encouraging broader adoption and flexible payment options.

From Discovery to Payment: A Unified Commerce Flow

The Agentic Commerce Protocol unites product discovery, checkout, and payment into a seamless flow within ChatGPT. Merchants maintain autonomy over inventory, orders, and transactions, while users enjoy a simple, AI-driven shopping journey. This protocol balances innovation and security, appealing to both merchants and consumers seeking efficiency and trust.

Conclusion

OpenAI’s Commerce API is setting a new standard for commerce in conversational platforms. By empowering merchants with advanced integration tools and secure payment methods, it positions them at the heart of a dynamic, AI-powered retail landscape.

Source: OpenAI Developer Docs – Key Concepts in Commerce API