Returns policies when the buyer is an AI agent: rules to write now
When an assistant places the order, returns questions get harder: who authorised the purchase, what the shopper was told, and who pays. Here are the rules fashion retailers should settle first.
KEY TAKEAWAYS Summary by the editors
- Under the published Agentic Commerce Protocol delegated payment specification, settlement, refunds and chargebacks remain with the merchant and its payment provider.
- OpenAI's product feed specification includes separate fields for whether returns are accepted, the return window in days and a public policy URL.
- In the EU, online purchases of goods carry a 14 day right of withdrawal counted from delivery, and the buyer normally pays return postage unless the seller offers otherwise or failed to disclose the cost.
- Reports say neither Visa nor Mastercard had published a binding chargeback rule for agent-initiated disputes, so contracts and clear records carry the weight for now.
- Retailers should log what the agent was shown at the time of purchase, because disputes about wrong sizes or misread instructions depend on that evidence.
Why do returns change when an AI agent places the order?
Returns policies were written for a customer who looked at a product page, chose a size and clicked buy. When an assistant makes the choice, three things become uncertain: what the shopper actually asked for, what the retailer's data told the agent, and whether the shopper saw the return terms before confirming. None of this changes the retailer's legal duties, but it changes the evidence available when a dispute arises.
Fashion is exposed because returns are already common and size and fit errors are the main cause. An agent that misreads a measurement or substitutes a colour adds a new route to the same cost. The aim of the rules below is to make those cases rare, quick to resolve and cheap to prove.
What does the published protocol say about who handles returns?
OpenAI's announcement of the Agentic Commerce Protocol says merchants remain the merchant of record and keep control of fulfilment, returns and customer support. A report summarising the protocol's delegated payment specification quotes it as stating that settlement, refunds, chargebacks and compliance remain with the merchant and its payment service provider, and that OpenAI is not the merchant of record.
This is the clearest published position, but it is a platform specification, not a law or a card-network rule. Retailers should read their own platform agreements to see whether anything differs, particularly for refunds and cancellations.
Which return terms should be machine-readable?
OpenAI's feed specification includes three return fields: a boolean for whether returns are accepted, an integer for the return deadline in days and a public URL for the policy. The deadline is a duration, not a date, and should be supplied only when returns are accepted. For final-sale items, the guidance is to set returns to false and optionally link a page that explains the restriction. A policy URL alone does not set the acceptance field.
These fields force a decision that many retailers have avoided: one clear answer per product. Exceptions such as swimwear, made-to-order items or sale categories need to be expressed at product level, not only in a paragraph of terms and conditions.
| Rule | Why it matters | Where to record it |
|---|---|---|
| Return window per product group | Agents read a number of days, not prose | Feed field and policy page |
| Final-sale and hygiene exclusions | Prevents orders the retailer will not accept back | Product level flag and policy URL |
| Who pays return postage | Consumers must be told costs before buying | Policy page and checkout summary |
| Exchange options | Size errors are common in fashion | Policy page, and feed where supported |
| Evidence retained per order | Needed to answer disputes | Order system and agent session log |
What does consumer law require, whoever clicks buy?
The European Union's consumer guidance says a buyer can cancel an online purchase within 14 days without giving a reason, counted from delivery for goods. The buyer normally pays the postage for returning goods, unless the seller offers to pay or did not tell the buyer about the cost before purchase. Certain items, such as made-to-order or clearly personalised goods, are excluded.
Nothing in this guidance carves out purchases made through an assistant. In the United Kingdom, a report on guidance from the competition regulator dated 9 March 2026 says a business is treated as responsible for its AI agent's actions in the way it would be for an employee, including agents built by third parties. Retailers should take legal advice on how that applies to their own use of agents and to agents operated by others.
Sale terms also need to be visible at the point of confirmation. An agent that summarises a product may omit a restriction on returns, so the shopper's confirmation screen should carry the key terms in plain wording. Retailers that already show return costs and deadlines in the basket are better placed, because the same summary can be reused for agent flows. Legal teams should review how that confirmation is worded and recorded.
How should disputes about agent mistakes be handled?
Worldpay reports that no liability shift exists for agentic transactions and that disputes short of fraud, such as an agent buying the wrong item, are still being allocated between merchant, issuer, acquirer and platform. It adds that without a record of what the shopper authorised, agent-versus-shopper disagreements tend to be resolved in the cardholder's favour. A separate report says neither Visa nor Mastercard had published a binding chargeback rule for agent-initiated disputes at the time of writing.
The practical response is evidence. Keep the product data the agent received, the size and variant requested, the return terms displayed and the shopper's confirmation step. Where an order looks like a plain mistake by the agent, a goodwill return is often cheaper than contesting a chargeback, but that is a commercial judgement for each retailer.
- Define one return rule per product group and publish it as data and as text.
- Show return terms and costs in the checkout summary the shopper confirms.
- Store the agent's product data and the shopper's confirmation with each order.
- Agree an internal route for agent-related complaints with customer service and finance.
- Review agent-channel return and dispute rates separately every month.
Customer service needs a script as well as a policy. A person who says their assistant ordered the wrong item should be asked what they requested, what they were shown and when they confirmed. Teams should tag these contacts so that their volume and cost can be seen separately. If agent-related returns turn out to be much higher than website returns, that is a signal to narrow the range offered through agents, for example to items where fit is less critical.
What is still unknown?
Open questions include how card networks will treat agent mistakes, how strong customer authentication in Europe interacts with agent purchases and how exchanges will be requested through an assistant. Until those settle, retailers should keep pilots small, keep terms plain and avoid promising more generous returns on agent orders than they can afford at scale.
Frequently asked questions
Who handles returns when an AI agent buys from my store?
Under the published Agentic Commerce Protocol, the merchant remains the merchant of record and keeps control of returns, refunds and support. Settlement and chargebacks stay with the merchant and its payment provider.
Does the 14 day withdrawal right apply to purchases made by an AI assistant?
EU guidance sets a 14 day right of withdrawal for online goods purchases, counted from delivery, and it makes no exception for the channel. Retailers should confirm the position for their markets with legal advice.
How can I show return terms to an AI shopping agent?
OpenAI's product feed specification offers fields for whether returns are accepted, the return deadline in days and a public policy URL. Final-sale items should be marked as not accepting returns.
What happens if an agent orders the wrong size?
No settled industry rule exists. Worldpay reports that allocation of such disputes is still being negotiated, so retailers should keep records of what the agent was shown and what the shopper confirmed.
One edition every weekday morning. Read in five minutes. Free for industry professionals.
SOURCES
- OpenAI: Buy it in ChatGPT, Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol
- OpenAI Developers: Product feed specification
- Your Europe: Returning goods and the 14 day withdrawal right
- Worldpay: Agentic commerce liability is still being written
- Digital Applied: Agent checkout authentication and card networks 2026
