Stripe and OpenAI launch AI payments protocol for autonomous transactions

Stripe has launched a new payments protocol in collaboration with OpenAI, marking a significant step toward an AI-driven internet economy where automated systems handle transactions independently. The development signals a potential shift away from advertising-based revenue models toward automation-powered commerce, with Stripe’s head of AI suggesting this could substantially boost global economic activity.

What you should know: Emily Sands, Stripe’s head of AI and a PhD economist, believes this technology could fundamentally reshape global consumption patterns.

• The new payments protocol enables AI systems to conduct transactions without human intervention, removing traditional friction from online purchasing.
• Sands predicts this automation will particularly benefit high-resource individuals and organizations by eliminating the time cost of spending decisions.

The big picture: This collaboration represents more than just a technical integration—it’s positioning for what could become an entirely new internet economy built around automation rather than advertising.

• Traditional e-commerce relies heavily on advertising to drive consumer behavior and purchasing decisions.
• The AI-powered payments approach could bypass this model entirely, with automated systems making purchasing decisions based on user needs and preferences.

What they’re saying: Sands envisions significant macroeconomic implications from this technological shift.

• “With my economist hat on, I am actually imagining a world where global GDP goes up because the people with the most resources suddenly have slackened the most expensive part of spending for them, which is using their time,” Sands explained.
• “And you actually start to expand consumption by quite a bit in a way that’s very stimulating for the economy,” she added.

Who else is involved: The initiative includes participation from OpenAI executive Michelle Fradin, indicating strong collaboration between the two companies on this payments infrastructure.