Agent Payments Protocol
Also called AP2
An open protocol, announced by Google, that lets AI agents make payments for users with cryptographic proof of what the user authorised.
What is the Agent Payments Protocol?
The Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) is an open protocol for AI agents to make payments on a person's behalf. It was announced by Google with a group of payment and technology companies. Its focus is trust: proving that the user really asked for and approved a purchase.
How does it work?
AP2 uses signed, verifiable records of what the user authorised. These records, called mandates, capture things such as the item, a spending limit or whether the user approved a specific cart. Merchants and payment providers can check them, which gives a trail if something is disputed.
What is a simple example?
You tell an agent to buy concert tickets the moment they go on sale, up to a set price. The agent carries a signed record of that instruction, so the seller and your bank can see it was authorised and within the limit.
Why does it matter?
When software spends money, someone has to be able to show who allowed it. AP2 targets that question and relates to the Agentic Commerce Protocol, which standardises the checkout itself.