What is the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)?
OpenAI and Stripe developed the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) to connect businesses with buyers via AI agents. From pulling product information to even making purchases within AI platforms like ChatGPT, the Agentic Commerce Protocol will be major for e-commerce in the age of AI.
The Five Most-Key Takeaways from This Blog Post
- Though developed by OpenAI and Stripe, businesses can use this to connect with any AI agent and payment processor.
- Instant Checkout in ChatGPT was built on the ACP and allows users to buy from within ChatGPT. Businesses can sign up to be a part of the Instant Checkout feature.
- Agentic Commerce Protocol is open source and free to use.
- Businesses need to build an integration with a payment service provider (PSP) by using the Delegated Payment Spec.
- The AI agent acts more like an intermediary, as businesses still have the power to do things like decline purchases.
Why does the Agentic Commerce Protocol matter for business owners?
ACP makes it possible for businesses owners to get sales conversions from AI agents. With this protocol, users do not even need to leave the AI to purchase the product.
That represents a step up in the fast-developing field of agentic commerce, which involves AI agents helping users with shopping.
How does ChatGPT Instant Checkout work for businesses?
In the case of ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout, the benefit for business owners is that ChatGPT can now directly lead to a sale without even requiring the user to open up a browser tab and go to the business’s website.
Agentic Commerce Protocol makes it possible for businesses to have their products pop up with images, prices, availability, and other info, along with a purchase button.
Worth mentioning is that ChatGPT will take a cut from the sale, which is a cost of doing business in the age of AI.
Agentic Commerce Protocol Represents the Next Step in AI Interactions
In the past few years that ChatGPT and the ensuing gen-AI models (Claude, Gemini, and the like) have been around, using these tools felt like isolated experiences.
Isolated, in that the conversations took place in a window or app that was removed from the Internet at large.
Soon came the sources with links to follow to the Internet. But still, it felt like something separate from the Internet, these LLM interfaces.
But now, a gradual effort is starting to become clear: there is an ambition to migrate much of our online activity into AI models, so that these become one-stop shops for a lot of Internet activity.
Just look at the release of AI browsers like Comet and ChatGPT Atlas, which blend large language models with traditional browsing experiences to AI-ify the Internet.
Online shopping is one of those internet activities. Agentic Commerce Protocol brings this to fruition by making it possible for an AI model to also function as an e-commerce platform of sorts.
Expect More E-Commerce Integrations with AI Agents
For how much time people spend in conversations with AI like ChatGPT, it makes sense that sooner or later more parts of the Internet would be integrated into the chatbot interface.
The future of AI likely involves making a large language model feel like an online-shopping bazaar at the user’s command to shop for wares.
Will ChatGPT feel like next-gen Amazon? (Let’s be real: Amazon’s already including AI agents like Rufus on its site, so Amazon will be next-gen Amazon.)
It will very well be the case that AI platforms will effectively function as wide-ranging marketplaces for plenty of consumers. For that reason, knowing about things like Agentic Commerce Protocol will be essential for reaching those consumers.
How can your business get AI agents to feature its products?
ChatGPT and other AI platforms will very likely become a place where significant numbers of consumers go to chat about products, make comparisons, and ask AI for recommendations and analyses of available products.
For that reason, business owners would be wise to recognize that consumer interactions with AI agents will be a major way to get leads in the future.
So, how can your business get the attention of AI agents to have those feature your product?
In the case of Instant Checkout at least, the top things to do is make sure you have high-quality product images on your website and accurate up-to-date information about your product. Competitive pricing will also be a major factor, as AI agents will be seeking out the best deals for consumers.
The Last (But Not Least) Key Takeaway from This Blog Post
Agentic Commerce Protocol will be instrumental in transforming e-commerce, so business owners should be thinking about ways to get AI agents to feature their products and services via AIO (artificial-intelligence optimization).
Frequently asked questions about the Agentic Commerce Protocol
What is the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)?
The Agentic Commerce Protocol is an open-source protocol developed by OpenAI and Stripe that connects businesses with buyers through AI agents. It covers everything from pulling product information to making purchases inside AI platforms like ChatGPT, and it is free to use.
Who created the Agentic Commerce Protocol, and does it cost anything?
OpenAI and Stripe developed it. It is open source and free to use, and although those two companies built it, businesses can use it to connect with any AI agent and payment processor.
What is ChatGPT Instant Checkout?
Instant Checkout is a ChatGPT feature built on the Agentic Commerce Protocol that lets users buy without leaving ChatGPT. For a business it means ChatGPT can lead directly to a sale without the user opening a browser tab and going to the business website, with products shown alongside images, prices, availability and a purchase button.
Does ChatGPT take a cut of sales made through Instant Checkout?
Yes. ChatGPT takes a cut from the sale, which is a cost of doing business in the age of AI.
Do businesses lose control of sales made through an AI agent?
No. The AI agent acts more like an intermediary, and businesses still have the power to do things like decline purchases.
How can a business get AI agents to feature its products?
In the case of Instant Checkout, the top things to do are to keep high-quality product images on your website and accurate, up-to-date information about your product. Competitive pricing is also a major factor, because AI agents will be seeking out the best deals for consumers.
Other Great GO AI Blog Posts
GO AI the blog offers a combination of information about, analysis of, and editorializing on AI technologies of interest to business owners, with especial focus on the impact this tech will have on commerce as a whole.
On a usual week, there are multiple GO AI blog posts going out. Here are some notable recent articles:
- For Businesses and Other Organizations, What Makes a Successful Chatbot?
- IBM Watson vs. ChatGPT vs. Gemini: How Will Each Affect Search Engines?
- Using AI to Find Resources for Business Owners
- How Would Restricting Open-Source AI Affect Business Owners?
- The EU’s AI Act Has Become Law: The Implications for Business Owners (Especially American)
In addition to our GO AI blog, we also have a blog that offers important updates in the world of search engine optimization (SEO), with blog posts like “Google Ends Its Plan to End Third-Party Cookies”.
GO Deeper on Substack!
If you want to get a bigger-picture view on where AI is and is headed, then check out our Substack to learn about emerging and dominant themes in the AI industry that affect all kinds of businesses!
