Definition
The Agentic Commerce Protocol is an open standard, built by OpenAI and Stripe, that lets merchants sell directly inside AI conversations. It is the technology behind ChatGPT's Instant Checkout, and one of the main rails turning the answer engine into a storefront.
On this page
At a glance
- Categories Commerce
- Abbreviation ACP
- Related fields Commerce, Technical
- Difficulty Intermediate
What ACP does
ACP defines how an AI agent and a merchant talk to each other to complete a sale: how product information is passed, how the order is placed, and how payment is handled. When someone buys inside ChatGPT, ACP is the plumbing making it work. Payment runs through a secure token so the agent never sees raw card details, and the merchant fulfills the order and stays the merchant of record. Over a million merchants came online through Shopify's auto-enrollment.
Why it matters for brands
ACP is one of the standards that turns 'the AI mentioned you' into 'the AI sold your product.' For merchants it is access to a fast-growing, high-intent channel where the customer is ready to buy inside the conversation. More broadly, it is a signal that AI visibility and AI transactability are merging: it is no longer enough to be recommended, you need to be buyable at the moment of recommendation.
ACP and the protocol landscape
ACP is the OpenAI and Stripe rail. Google is pushing its own standard, the Universal Commerce Protocol, and there are payment-focused efforts from Visa, Mastercard, and others. Expect a multi-protocol world, the way brands run both Google and Meta ads. Supporting the major protocols where your platform allows is how you avoid being locked out of whichever agent your customer happens to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What does ACP actually enable?
Direct purchases inside AI conversations like ChatGPT: the agent passes the order and payment is handled securely, while the merchant fulfills and stays the merchant of record.
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Who is behind ACP?
It is an open standard developed by OpenAI and Stripe, with adoption through partners including Shopify.
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Is ACP the only agentic commerce protocol?
No. Google's Universal Commerce Protocol is the main alternative, alongside payment efforts from Visa and Mastercard. Most brands will end up supporting more than one.