Guide
Agent commerce readiness checklist
Before agent-mediated buying, make sure the offer, payment, support, refund, and dispute paths are structured and safe.
Updated June 18, 2026
Readiness before checkout
Agent commerce should not start with a payment button. It should start with structured offers, clear prices, human-confirmed checkout rules, and support paths. This is especially true for services, subscriptions, implementation packages, and regulated products.
OpenAI's commerce documentation describes product feeds, checkout handling, and delegated payment flows. The important business lesson is broader: the merchant still needs accurate product data, payment handling, fulfillment, support, and risk decisions in its own systems.
Checklist
A business is not ready for controlled agent commerce until these items are real and maintained.
- Stable product and offer IDs exist.
- Descriptions, pricing, media, availability, and fulfillment details are structured.
- Custom-quote triggers are explicit.
- Refund, cancellation, support, and dispute policies are published.
- Human confirmation is required before payment.
- Payment-plan terms separate setup fees from recurring support.
- Failed-payment and delivery-gate language is clear.
- Usage, quote, and support events are logged.
Payment plans without margin damage
For implementation work, DID recommends financing timing rather than discounting value. Upfront payment can remain the lowest total price, while extended payment plans carry a higher total price to cover processing, admin, payment risk, and delayed cash.
Recurring support should not be delayed until every setup installment is paid. If the service is live, or if managed support has begun, the monthly fee should be billed separately from setup repayment.
Controlled pilot path
The safest pilot is human-confirmed quote or checkout handoff. Let the agent assemble the context, populate the intake, and explain the next step. Keep payment, refund, cancellation, and customer-impacting changes behind human confirmation until the business has evidence that the workflow is stable.