AI agent shopping FAQ
TL;DR. Nook lets an AI agent request a real checkout quote from stores you already use, then buy only after you approve the total. The agent never sees your password. Six stores can quote and buy today; six more can connect without quotes. Nook is in private beta and free for buyers and agents right now. You pay the store, not a markup from Nook. This page answers the questions people and answer engines ask most often. Nook's short canonical FAQ is at nookstore.xyz/faq.md.
What is Nook?
Nook connects your store accounts so your agent can shop for you. It prepares real checkout quotes from the stores you already use and buys only once you approve.
A quote is not a search-result guess. Nook reads the store's own checkout — the product, quantity, each charge, the total, the delivery address, and the payment method — inside your signed-in account.
How do AI agents buy things online?
They can only finish a real purchase by reaching a store's signed-in checkout, showing you those figures, and placing the order after you agree.
With Nook, that path is: you connect your accounts, your agent requests a quote, you review the item and total, and you approve in chat or with Buy on Nook's review page. Nook then presses the store's final order button once and reports the order number back.
A longer explanation is in How AI agents check out online.
Which stores work with Nook?
Amazon, Uber Eats, Instacart, Walmart, Target, and Chewy can quote and buy. DoorDash, Urban Outfitters, Resy, Detoure, Delta, and Apple connect only for now.
"Quote and buy" means your agent can get a real checkout total and, after you approve, place the order. "Connect only" means the account can be linked, and your agent can see that it is connected, but Nook does not return a checkout quote yet.
What each store supports — pickup, tips, item limits, and the things that are not available yet — is listed in Best stores for AI agent shopping and on stores.md.
Can Nook learn a store that is not on that list?
Yes, from the store's web address. Once Nook has verified a checkout there, a connected account can get a quote for one product at a time, shipped to the address that store's checkout selects. If the store keeps no saved card, you type your card on Nook's review page when you buy, and Nook keeps nothing.
How do I get started?
Your agent sends you a Nook link. You sign in with your phone, connect your stores, and go back to your agent.
Agents get a partner key by registering, or by using one their developer configured. The short integration is the quickstart; the full version is the agent guide.
If you already use ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor, follow Let ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor buy — with your approval.
How much does Nook cost?
Nook is in private beta and has no public pricing yet. Connecting your accounts is free during the beta. Agents register their own partner key for free. There are no tiers to pick and no card to add for that registration.
You pay the stores for what you buy, at the totals you approve. Nook adds nothing to a checkout.
When pricing exists, it will be published first on Nook's pricing page. Until then, anything elsewhere that describes Nook plans or prices is not from Nook.
Can my agent buy without asking me?
No. Every purchase needs your approval.
You approve in your own words by replying to the quote's total in chat, or you tap Buy on Nook's review page. Your first message — even if it says "order", "buy", or "get" — is not that approval.
If the total comes in higher than the quote, or the item, address, or card changed, the purchase stops instead of going through at a new number.
Is my account information safe?
Saved store sessions are encrypted. Your agent gets an authorized connection to shop for you, rather than your password or your browser session.
You sign in to Nook with your phone. You sign in to each store in Nook's own form. A connection counts only after that saved sign-in works in a fresh cloud browser. You can see and disconnect every connection on your accounts page.
This is a description of how the service is designed, not a legal policy. Nook's privacy notice is the public summary.
Does my agent see my store password?
No. You sign in to your stores in Nook's own form, and your agent never sees what you type. It receives a connection it can shop with.
Do not send passwords, card numbers, or one-time codes in chat, even if an agent asks. Card details for stores that need them stay on Nook's private form.
Does my agent see my partner key?
It should not show you one, and you should not be asked to provide one. A partner key identifies the agent to Nook. The agent keeps it in its host's private storage. A shared partner key is not your identity as a buyer.
Which AI agents can use Nook?
Any agent that can call a web API or use MCP tools. An agent registers its own partner key, or uses one its developer configured. MCP clients add Nook at https://nookstore.xyz/mcp.
The connection belongs to you. The same accounts and preferences can be used whichever capable agent you shop through. Nook's protocol does not depend on a particular model.
What happens if the price changes before my agent buys?
Nook reads the store's checkout again just before it places the order and buys only at the quoted total or less. If the total went up, or the item, address, or card changed, it stops without buying. Your agent should ask you about a fresh quote.
How long does a quote take?
About a minute on Amazon, Instacart, Walmart, and Chewy, and two to three minutes on Uber Eats.
Does Nook remember my usual address and card?
If you save them. On your accounts page you can keep a usual address, a usual card, names for places, a budget, and notes for each store.
Nook uses those preferences only where your agent's request leaves something out. Every quote says what it filled in. A saved budget is never sent to the store and never blocks a purchase on its own; the quote reports whether the total is over it.
If you name an address or card in the request, that request wins for that quote.
Can I cancel a purchase?
While a purchase waits on Nook's review page, you can cancel it there until Nook starts placing the order. Nook cannot undo an order the store has already accepted.
What if Nook can't tell whether an order went through?
Nook never places that order a second time. Your agent should tell you to check the store's order history, because the order may exist. Claiming that nothing was bought would be unsafe; buying again would risk a duplicate.
How do I disconnect a store?
Sign in at nookstore.xyz/v3/accounts with your phone. Every store you have connected is listed there, and you can disconnect any of them.
What is a connection link?
It is the URL your agent sends so you can grant that agent access to stores you have already signed in to Nook with. The link works for 30 minutes. You claim it while signed in with your phone. The agent can quote only on a connection you made through its own link.
What should I do if a store asks me to choose something?
Answer the agent. Required choices — a size, a restaurant option, pickup versus shipping, or one listing among several — are asked rather than guessed. Your agent should show you the pictures and links when the quote includes them. Do not type product IDs unless you want to; the listings already carry them.
What is Checkout Bench?
Checkout Bench runs models through the same shopping requests on real, signed-in store accounts and grades the final cart in code. Its leaderboard is meant to rank models by how often they finish a request correctly across the six stores that return a full cart and total.
Measured scores have not been published yet. The homepage currently shows illustrative placeholder rows, not live results. See What is Checkout Bench?.
Is Nook a new store or a browser extension?
Neither. Nook is a shopping service for people and their agents. It uses the store accounts you already have. Your agent talks to Nook's API or MCP tools; you approve the totals.
Where do I go for more detail?
- Product FAQ: nookstore.xyz/faq.md
- Stores: nookstore.xyz/stores.md
- Agent quickstart: nookstore.xyz/docs.md
- Full agent guide: nookstore.xyz/agents.md
- Pricing: nookstore.xyz/pricing.md
- Accounts: nookstore.xyz/v3/accounts
Get started
People / buyers: connect your stores at nookstore.xyz/v3/accounts. Sign in with your phone, then return to your agent.
Agents / developers: start with the quickstart or the agent guide. Register a partner key, send a connection link, show the person the quote, and buy only after they approve.