Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)
Type: full-code · Vendor: OpenAI and Stripe · Language: JSON, HTTP · License: Open specification · Status: active · Status in practice: emerging
Open protocol (OpenAI and Stripe) by which a merchant exposes a product feed and an agentic checkout API so any compatible agent can discover products and securely initiate checkout with a delegated payment.
Description. ACP is an open specification from OpenAI and Stripe behind Instant Checkout in ChatGPT (live since September 2025). Merchants publish structured catalog data that an agent can ingest and configure an agentic checkout endpoint so any compatible agent can initiate a purchase; the buyer authorises spend inside the agent and a scoped payment token is passed to the merchant rather than raw card details.
Agent loop shape. Commerce protocol. Step 1: the merchant publishes structured catalog data (a product feed) and stands up an agentic checkout endpoint. Step 2: an agent ingests the feed, reasons over inventory, and surfaces products to the user. Step 3: the agent constructs a cart by calling the checkout API. Step 4: the buyer authorises spend inside the agent and a scoped payment token is passed to the merchant, who completes the order.
Primary use cases
- Instant Checkout for products surfaced inside ChatGPT
- merchants exposing machine-readable catalogs and an agent checkout API
- delegated, scoped agent payment without sharing card details
Key concepts
- Product feed → agent-readable-commerce-surface (docs) — Structured catalog data an agent ingests to understand merchant inventory and surface products.
- Agentic checkout → agent-readable-commerce-surface (docs) — An API endpoint any compatible agent can call to securely initiate a purchase.
- Delegated payment token → verifiable-purchase-mandate (docs) — The buyer authorises spend inside the agent; the merchant receives a scoped token rather than raw card details.
Patterns this full-code implements —
- ★Agent-Readable Commerce Surface
ACP defines the merchant-side surface: a structured product feed plus a checkout API any compatible agent can call.
- ★Verifiable Purchase Mandate
The buyer authorises spend inside the agent and the merchant receives a scoped, verifiable payment token rather than raw card details.
- ★Delegated Agent Authorization
Checkout authority reaches the merchant as a one-merchant scoped token, a delegated rather than standing credential.
References
Provenance
- Last analyzed:
- Last updated:
- Verification status: partial