Agentic Checkout Explained: AI Prepares, the Buyer Pays
Agentic checkout means an AI agent prepares the checkout for a sale, and a human buyer completes it. On Pocketsflow, an AI app such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor calls the create_checkout_session tool to build a hosted checkout link with the right product, email and discount, and the buyer pays on that Pocketsflow page as usual.
What "agentic checkout" means on Pocketsflow
The term gets used for two different ideas. One is an AI that shops and pays on a buyer's behalf. The other is an AI that works for the seller and sets up the sale. Pocketsflow does the second one. The AI creates the link, and a person opens it and pays. Pocketsflow's MCP server has no tool that pays for anything, so an agent never enters card details or completes a purchase.
This keeps the checkout a normal checkout. The buyer sees your product, your price and the payment methods your account offers, and Pocketsflow handles card processing and sales tax as the merchant of record.
Who does what in a Pocketsflow agentic checkout
| Step | Who does it |
|---|---|
| Pick the product, email and discount | The AI agent, from your request |
Create the link with create_checkout_session | The AI agent |
| Check the link and send it | You, or the AI in a follow-up email |
| Enter payment details and pay | The human buyer |
| Charge, tax, receipt and delivery | Pocketsflow |
How an agentic checkout runs on Pocketsflow, step by step
- Add
https://www.pocketsflow.com/mcpto your AI app as a connector, sign in to Pocketsflow and click Allow access. Pocketsflow creates a key named "MCP: <app>". - Tell the AI what the buyer needs: "Jane wants the Editing course with code VIP20. Make her a checkout link and lock her email."
- The AI finds the product with
list_products(orlist_subscription_offersfor a plan), then callscreate_checkout_sessionwithproductId,customerEmail,lockEmailanddiscountCode. - Pocketsflow returns a link on your store subdomain. Open it once to check the price and the email.
- The buyer opens the link and pays. Pocketsflow delivers.
- Ask "did Jane pay?" The AI checks with
list_ordersorget_order.
The full list of inputs and error messages is in how to create Pocketsflow checkout links with AI.
Where Pocketsflow agentic checkout helps
- Sales in DMs and email. A follower asks to buy. You ask the AI for a link with their email and a code, and paste it back in seconds.
- Quotes for clients. "Make a checkout link for the coaching package for tom@example.com" gives a client one link that matches the deal.
- Software signups. A coding agent in Cursor or Claude Code can add a Pocketsflow checkout to your app, passing your user id as
clientReferenceIdso the webhook ties the payment to the account. - Plan changes. A member on a monthly plan asks to switch to yearly. "Make Ana a checkout link for the yearly plan" uses the yearly subscription offer's id.
What a Pocketsflow agentic checkout costs
Creating a checkout link is free. Pocketsflow charges 4.7% + $0.30 only when the buyer pays, as of November 2026, with no monthly fee. The fixed part weighs more on small prices, so the fee as a share of the price falls as the price rises.
| Point | Fee share |
|---|---|
| $5 | 10.8% |
| $10 | 7.7% |
| $29 | 5.7% |
| $49 | 5.3% |
| $99 | 5% |
| $199 | 4.8% |
Source: Pocketsflow pricing (www.pocketsflow.com/pricing), 4.7% + $0.30 per sale, November 2026.
On a $5 checkout the fee is 10.8% of the price. On a $49 checkout it is 5.3%, and on a $199 checkout it is 4.8%. The full breakdown is on the Pocketsflow pricing page.
What happens after a Pocketsflow agentic checkout
Pocketsflow records the sale like any other. The order shows in the dashboard, the buyer gets the product, and an order.completed webhook fires with your clientReferenceId and metadata. The AI can read the order, but a payment refund stays in the dashboard. The refund tools in MCP manage refund policies only.
Pocketsflow's Checkout group has 3 tools. Next to create_checkout_session, get_abandoned_checkout_summary counts buyers who started and never paid in the last 30 days, on every plan. Turning on recovery emails with set_abandoned_checkout needs the Growth plan.
What an AI agent cannot do in Pocketsflow checkout
- Pay for a product, or enter a buyer's card details.
- Refund a payment, withdraw money or change bank details.
- Change the payment methods on the link: they come from your account.
- Make a link for a draft product: publish it first.
If you want an AI that buys things on its own, Pocketsflow is not that tool today. Pocketsflow fits sellers who want an agent to do the setup while a person stays in charge of the payment.
Agentic checkout and agentic commerce
Agentic checkout is one part of agentic commerce, where AI agents run store work through real tools. For the wider picture, read what agentic commerce is. To design the page your buyers land on, see Pocketsflow checkout pages, and to connect your AI, start at the Pocketsflow MCP page.