The Agent Payments Protocol creates a structured authorization layer for agent-led transactions. It can express what the user approved, the amount or spending limit, relevant conditions and evidence that the agent acted within that permission.
Payment authority should be bounded and revocable. AP2 complements agent communication and commerce protocols by focusing on trust and authorization around payment rather than product discovery or merchant catalogue access.
ELI5
The Agent Payments Protocol is a way to describe and prove what payment authority a user gave to an AI agent. It can state what may be bought, how much may be spent, and which conditions must be satisfied.
For example, a user could allow a travel agent to pay up to a fixed amount for one approved train ticket but not for a hotel or a more expensive fare. The permission should be limited, checkable and revocable so the agent cannot treat one approval as unlimited spending power.
What does AP2 stand for?
AP2 is the acronym for Agent Payments Protocol.
Why do AI agents need a payment protocol?
A payment protocol makes user intent, limits and authorization verifiable so an agent cannot treat general shopping assistance as unlimited permission to spend.
