{
  "id": "D08",
  "url": "https://cartforagents.com/guides/agentic-commerce-protocol",
  "title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol: separate product discovery from checkout setup",
  "description": "Use an integration checklist to distinguish feed admission, discovery data, checkout contracts and supported purchase authorization.",
  "answer": "Treat the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) as four separate jobs with four separate gates: admission to ChatGPT shopping, which is by application unless you sell through Shopify or Etsy; discovery data, a product feed with nine required fields; a checkout API, which OpenAI says needs a separately enabled integration; and purchase authorization through a delegated payment token. Setting a feed flag such as is_eligible_checkout does none of the other three. As of October 27, 2026, OpenAI's merchant page says purchases are completed on merchants' own sites, so most merchants should finish the first two and treat checkout as unconfirmed.",
  "take": "For almost every merchant, ACP comes down to one job: get the product data right. Shopify and Etsy stores are already in, and OpenAI's merchant page says purchases now finish on merchants' own sites, so the feed and the facts in it are where your effort pays.",
  "summary": "The Agentic Commerce Protocol covers four different things that get lumped together: being let in, sending product data, running a checkout API, and accepting a delegated payment. Each has its own gate, and OpenAI's own pages now disagree about the last two. Here is a boundary checklist that keeps them apart.",
  "claims": [
    {
      "text": "The ACP README says the specification is maintained by OpenAI and Stripe, is currently in beta, uses date-based versions, and was first implemented by OpenAI and Stripe.",
      "source_title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol on GitHub: README",
      "source_url": "https://github.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "The maintainers file also lists Meta, added in the unreleased changelog."
    },
    {
      "text": "ACP version 2026-04-17 is the latest dated release in the repository; it deprecated 2026-01-30 and added a Feed API, a cart capability, delegate authentication and a /.well-known/acp.json discovery document.",
      "source_title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol: Changelog, Version 2026-04-17",
      "source_url": "https://github.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol/blob/main/changelog/2026-04-17.md",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Protocol releases are not statements about what ChatGPT has deployed."
    },
    {
      "text": "The ACP website says implementing the protocol does not automatically list products with AI agents, that each AI platform manages its own participation process, and that businesses that want to participate in ChatGPT need to apply.",
      "source_title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol website, FAQ",
      "source_url": "https://www.agenticcommerce.dev/",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "FAQ text; parts of it predate the 2026-04-17 discovery document."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's merchant page says merchants can apply to share product feeds, applicants are on a waitlist, Shopify and Etsy catalogs are already integrated with no application required, and shopping is currently live for ChatGPT users in the U.S.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI: ChatGPT merchants",
      "source_url": "https://chatgpt.com/merchants/",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Marketing page; it also says a self-serve merchant platform is planned, without a date we can verify."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's merchant page says ACP today supports product discovery and recommendations through shared product data, that OpenAI is moving away from a standalone Instant Checkout experience, and that purchases are completed on merchant-owned websites or apps.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI: ChatGPT merchants",
      "source_url": "https://chatgpt.com/merchants/",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Conflicts with OpenAI's help article, which still says ChatGPT may show Instant Checkout for some eligible products and merchants."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's help article says that for some eligible products and merchants, ChatGPT may show an Instant Checkout option, and that Shopify merchants' product data is already integrated through Shopify Catalog with no additional work required.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI Help Center: Shopping with ChatGPT Search",
      "source_url": "https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11128490-shopping-with-chatgpt-search",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Living help article."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's Get Started guide says onboarding product feeds is currently available to approved partners, and that the integration path is to review the schema, validate required fields, upload over SFTP and keep the feed current, with a full snapshot at least once a day recommended.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI for Developers: Get Started (Agentic Commerce)",
      "source_url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/get-started",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Guide for approved partners."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's product reference lists nine required fields (item_id, title, description, url, brand, seller_name, image_url, availability, price), says search eligibility defaults to on and checkout to off, and says unrecognized or empty availability rejects the row, with unknown available as an explicit value.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI for Developers: Products (file upload)",
      "source_url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/specs/file-upload/products",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Ads feeds follow a separate guide."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's product reference says checkout requires a separately enabled integration, that setting an eligibility flag does not complete checkout onboarding, that is_eligible_checkout opts in only when search eligibility is also true, and that seller_privacy_policy and seller_tos are conditionally required for checkout.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI for Developers: Products (file upload), Checkout",
      "source_url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/specs/file-upload/products",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Describes feed fields, not the checkout program's admission rules."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's file upload overview says a product missing from a processed snapshot is retained for up to 14 days, and that setting is_eligible_search=false makes it ineligible the next time a snapshot is processed.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI for Developers: File upload overview",
      "source_url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/specs/file-upload/overview",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Processing timing is not stated beyond these rules."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's key concepts page says the merchant validates the order, calculates tax, charges the payment method with its existing processor and accepts or declines the order, that a delegated payment request carries a maximum chargeable amount and expiry, and that OpenAI is not the merchant of record.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI for Developers: Key concepts (Agentic Commerce)",
      "source_url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/key-concepts",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Describes the Instant Checkout flow, whose current availability OpenAI's pages disagree about."
    },
    {
      "text": "OpenAI's production guide lists sandbox certification tests, including checkout sessions with and without an address, delegated payment tokens, order completion returning HTTP 201, signed order webhooks, recoverable errors and idempotency conflicts returning HTTP 409.",
      "source_title": "OpenAI for Developers: Agentic commerce in production",
      "source_url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/production",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Applies only once checkout is enabled for an integration."
    },
    {
      "text": "Shopify's ChatGPT channel help says ChatGPT is a product discovery channel, buyers are redirected to the store's online checkout, and there is no ChatGPT direct checkout setting in the Shopify admin.",
      "source_title": "Shopify Help Center: ChatGPT (agentic storefronts)",
      "source_url": "https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/agentic-storefronts/chatgpt",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Shopify's channel only."
    },
    {
      "text": "Shopify's Catalog requirements say a store must be on the Starter plan or higher and not in private mode, with an exception: on the Agentic plan, products can still be included through agentic storefronts before the online store is published to a paid plan.",
      "source_title": "Shopify Help Center: Requirements for being included in Shopify Catalog",
      "source_url": "https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-catalog/requirements",
      "source_date": "2026-10-27",
      "method": "documented",
      "limitation": "Account standing is also reviewed over time."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol on GitHub",
      "url": "https://github.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol: Changelog, Version 2026-04-17",
      "url": "https://github.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol/blob/main/changelog/2026-04-17.md",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Agentic Commerce Protocol website",
      "url": "https://www.agenticcommerce.dev/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI: ChatGPT merchants",
      "url": "https://chatgpt.com/merchants/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI Help Center: Shopping with ChatGPT Search",
      "url": "https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11128490-shopping-with-chatgpt-search",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI for Developers: Get Started (Agentic Commerce)",
      "url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/get-started",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI for Developers: Products (file upload)",
      "url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/specs/file-upload/products",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI for Developers: File upload overview",
      "url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/specs/file-upload/overview",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI for Developers: Key concepts (Agentic Commerce)",
      "url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/key-concepts",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "OpenAI for Developers: Agentic commerce in production",
      "url": "https://developers.openai.com/commerce/guides/production",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Shopify Help Center: ChatGPT (agentic storefronts)",
      "url": "https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/agentic-storefronts/chatgpt",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Shopify Help Center: Requirements for being included in Shopify Catalog",
      "url": "https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-catalog/requirements",
      "accessed": "2026-10-27"
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Checked on 2026-10-27; re-check before acting. OpenAI's merchant page, help article and developer docs disagreed about checkout on that date, and any of them may change first.",
    "We read the documents; we did not apply to OpenAI's program, upload a feed or run a checkout certification.",
    "The worked example is a labelled hypothetical store. Field rules are quoted from OpenAI's reference; the store and its values are invented.",
    "Nothing here measures whether a feed changes how often ChatGPT shows a product.",
    "The four-boundary checklist is our proposal for organizing the work. It is not an OpenAI or ACP document."
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://cartforagents.com/guides/ucp-vs-acp",
    "https://cartforagents.com/guides/universal-commerce-protocol",
    "https://cartforagents.com/guides/chatgpt-product-feed",
    "https://cartforagents.com/guides/shopify-chatgpt",
    "https://cartforagents.com/guides/shopify-agentic-storefronts",
    "https://cartforagents.com/guides/how-to-rank-in-chatgpt"
  ],
  "published": "2026-10-27",
  "updated": "2026-10-27",
  "checked": "2026-10-27",
  "kind": "guide"
}