Evidence
observed · not disputed
Coverage
complete · 16/16 graded0/5 barrier checks verified
Freshness
fresh
Last tested
Revision
sha256:198cbb94fffe…

Agent report card

Can an agent use OpenAI API through API service lifecycle?

Grade C+: Machine credentials exist but require manual copying, broad authority, or weak lifecycle support.

OpenAI / active

Agent ReadinessC+Limited

Five-stage assessment

Where agent autonomy holds and where it breaks

Five states · each from its own evidence · lifecycle order, not a journey
  1. EvaluateReady
  2. Sign upLimited
  3. PayLimited
  4. ProvisionLimited
  5. OperateLimited
  1. 01

    Evaluate

    Ready

    The exact service and stable evaluation or access entrypoints are publicly discoverable.

    Applicable terms are stable, readable, retrievable, and materially complete.

    Eligibility conditions and required inputs are explicit and decidable.

    Price or no-charge status, variables, currency, and material conditions are explicit.

    Evidence and actions6 signals

    Can an agent decide every material eligibility condition before commitment?

    supported: fresh

    Eligibility conditions and required inputs are explicit and decidable.

    OpenAI explicitly defines material eligibility conditions: the customer must represent that it is lawfully able to enter into the agreement and has authority to bind the entity. Customer and End Users must not be located in U.S. embargoed countries or identified on any Restricted Party List.

    eligibility_decidability: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent estimate cost or confirm no-charge status before commitment?

    supported: fresh

    Price or no-charge status, variables, currency, and material conditions are explicit.

    Prepaid billing documentation explains how API users pre-purchase usage deducted from prepaid credits, configure auto recharge, set recharge amounts and limits, and notes credit expiration (1 year) and non-refundability.

    pricing_decidability: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent find the exact service and its stable entrypoints?

    supported: fresh

    The exact service and stable evaluation or access entrypoints are publicly discoverable.

    The service entrypoints and direct HTTP/REST API endpoints, authentication mechanisms, and request options are publicly documented in the API Reference Overview.

    service_discovery: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Are verified structured discovery artifacts available?

    missing: unknown

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    structured_evaluation_discovery: Unknown

    Can an agent retrieve and understand the applicable commitment terms?

    supported: fresh

    Applicable terms are stable, readable, retrievable, and materially complete.

    The OpenAI Services Agreement is publicly accessible, readable, and defines terms governing APIs, ChatGPT Enterprise, data use, security, and customer obligations.

    terms_access: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Does the vendor deliberately describe access for web agents?

    missing: unknown

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    verified_web_agent_access: Unknown

  2. 02

    Sign up

    Limited

    Machine credentials exist but require manual copying, broad authority, or weak lifecycle support.

    A stable canonical route begins the required access bootstrap.

    Evidence and actions5 signals

    Can an agent operate the access controls and safe handoffs deterministically?

    supported: fresh

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    The retained capture from platform.openai.com/signup contains only basic page title metadata and an unrendered application header ('OpenAI Platform'), which does not show or describe operable access controls or safe handoffs.

    access_control_operability: Unknown: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Is there a stable route to begin obtaining service access?

    supported: fresh

    A stable canonical route begins the required access bootstrap.

    The canonical URL https://platform.openai.com/signup serves as the stable direct observation entry point for OpenAI Platform signup.

    access_entrypoint_stability: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent obtain access without an unsupported CAPTCHA boundary?

    supported: fresh

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    The captured evidence for platform.openai.com/signup contains minimal unrendered page content ('OpenAI Platform') and does not explicitly declare or observe the presence or absence of a CAPTCHA boundary.

    captcha_compatible_access: Unknown: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent obtain scoped, revocable authority for this service?

    supported: fresh

    Machine credentials exist but require manual copying, broad authority, or weak lifecycle support.

    First-party documentation explicitly declares machine credentials (API keys and service accounts) created and managed on the API key page, but full secret keys must be manually copied upon creation.

    delegated_identity_access: Limited: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can required phone verification be completed through a supported boundary?

    supported: fresh

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    The captured evidence for platform.openai.com/signup contains minimal unrendered page content and does not explicitly state whether phone verification is required, absent, or resumable.

    phone_verification_compatible: Unknown: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    What would improve this stage

    • Provide scoped delegated authorization with consent, revocation, and deterministic resumption.
  3. 03

    Pay

    Limited

    The public commitment omits a material component until later in the flow.

    A documented direct purchase path reaches paid access without a vendor decision point.

    Evidence and actions4 signals

    Can an agent construct checkout, hand off approval safely, and resume?

    supported: fresh

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    The evidence outlines setting up prepaid billing and configuring auto recharge in account settings, but does not document a programmatic flow for an agent to construct checkout, hand off approval safely, and resume.

    checkout_operability: Unknown: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Is the exact commercial commitment disclosed before authorization?

    supported: fresh

    The public commitment omits a material component until later in the flow.

    OpenAI documents purchased-credit expiry, non-refundability, configurable recharge controls, and balance behavior, but the retained evidence does not disclose exact rates, currency, or the charge amount before authorization.

    commitment_disclosure: Limited: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can payment be authorized within scoped agent or explicit human authority?

    supported: fresh

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    The evidence mentions configuring auto recharge, thresholds, and manual credit purchases, but it does not document a rail for scoped agent delegation or explicit human-confirmed authorization with receipts.

    payment_authorization: Unknown: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Is a direct self-service path to paid access documented?

    supported: fresh

    A documented direct purchase path reaches paid access without a vendor decision point.

    OpenAI documentation details a direct self-service path to purchase prepaid API credits by going to billing overview in account settings or using the Add to balance button in the billing portal without vendor approval.

    self_service_purchase: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method bounded-headless-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    What would improve this stage

    • Disclose the complete commitment before payment authorization.
  4. 04

    Provision

    Limited

    Delivery needs additional human transfer or has weak scope or lifecycle semantics.

    Provisioning is machine-triggerable or follows deterministically from an allowed handoff.

    A synchronous success response returns a usable created resource or access material; otherwise asynchronous work exposes progress, terminal state, reconciliation, and a documented bound.

    Evidence and actions3 signals

    Can usable access material be delivered securely to an authorized agent?

    supported: fresh

    Delivery needs additional human transfer or has weak scope or lifecycle semantics.

    OpenAI API keys are created in the API key page or dashboard, where the full secret key is shown only upon creation and must be saved or exported manually.

    access_material_delivery: Limited: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent determine successful provisioning completion and reconcile asynchronous failure?

    supported: fresh

    A synchronous success response returns a usable created resource or access material; otherwise asynchronous work exposes progress, terminal state, reconciliation, and a documented bound.

    A synchronous API call to the Responses API returns a response object with a completed status and output content upon successful execution.

    provisioning_completion: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can provisioning be initiated within supported agent authority?

    supported: fresh

    Provisioning is machine-triggerable or follows deterministically from an allowed handoff.

    Provisioning of responses can be initiated programmatically via API calls such as client.responses.create or requests sent to post /v1/responses.

    provisioning_operability: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    What would improve this stage

    • Deliver scoped access material through a secure documented machine-usable flow.
  5. 05

    Operate

    Limited

    Safe failure handling is documented only partially.

    Only part of the credential lifecycle is agent-operable.

    Every essential target has a stable documented agent-usable interface alternative.

    Request-time authentication is documented and usable under scoped agent authority.

    Essential operations have stable readable request, response, and effect semantics.

    Evidence and actions6 signals

    Is an agent-native protocol interface verified against the essential targets?

    missing: unknown

    Current admissible evidence does not resolve this finding.

    agent_protocol_interface: Unknown

    Can an agent manage credential expiry, rotation, revocation, compromise, and recovery?

    supported: fresh

    Only part of the credential lifecycle is agent-operable.

    Documentation states users can create and manage API keys on the API key page, and if a full secret key is lost, create a new key and update the application, representing a partially manual key lifecycle without documenting programmatic rotation or compromise recovery.

    credential_lifecycle: Limited: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent handle applicable failure modes safely?

    supported: fresh

    Safe failure handling is documented only partially.

    Documentation covers API error codes (such as 401, 429, 500, and 503), rate limits, and recommends exponential backoff retry strategies respecting Retry-After headers. Full idempotency, cancellation, and reconciliation contracts for all failure modes are not completely detailed.

    failure_contract: Limited: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent authenticate service operations with scoped authority?

    supported: fresh

    Request-time authentication is documented and usable under scoped agent authority.

    Request-time authentication with scoped authority is documented, accepting HTTP Bearer tokens via API keys or short-lived access tokens via workload identity federation in the Authorization header.

    operation_authentication: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Are essential operation inputs, outputs, and effects stable and decidable?

    supported: fresh

    Essential operations have stable readable request, response, and effect semantics.

    Across all evaluated surfaces, essential operational inputs, outputs, schemas, parameters, rate limits, and effect semantics for the API are documented and stable.

    operation_contract: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    • api-service

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    Can an agent perform every essential assessment target through a usable interface?

    supported: fresh

    Every essential target has a stable documented agent-usable interface alternative.

    Every essential target has documented machine-operable interfaces available through direct HTTP endpoints and official SDKs across supported environments.

    target_interface_access: Ready: tested 20 Aug

    • api-service

    Method public-http-semantic-assessment 2026-08-20

    What would improve this stage

    • Document applicable structured errors, retry, cancellation, and reconciliation semantics.
    • Provide scoped expiry, rotation, revocation, compromise, and recovery operations.

What works

  • Evaluate: The exact service and stable evaluation or access entrypoints are publicly discoverable.

What blocks agents

  • Sign up: Machine credentials exist but require manual copying, broad authority, or weak lifecycle support.
  • Pay: The public commitment omits a material component until later in the flow.
  • Provision: Delivery needs additional human transfer or has weak scope or lifecycle semantics.
  • Operate: Safe failure handling is documented only partially.

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Profile
arp_01kzf0m4xe2b7nt9w4r6dh1q8c
Projection
sha256:e4799b49cd56c286f3d88319b63046d1d5004e9dabc58b206774bd9bde4c1846
Policy
service-use-2026-08-20-public-evidence-r9 · sha256:57bf95fd6d0fe6fe9173a68b60e8d8dc2179b357c88ff4349675a72d0e1d4139