ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol)

ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol) is a protocol for agent-driven commerce workflows—discovery, offer, cart, mandate, and payment—so an AI agent can complete a purchase with a merchant without a human driving every UI step. It complements payment-focused protocols by covering the commercial conversation that precedes settlement.

Why it Matters

Payment alone is not checkout. Agents need a shared language for product selection, quotes, shipping, and authorization boundaries before money moves. ACP aims to keep that conversation structured so merchants, wallets, and agents do not each invent incompatible cart and mandate formats.

For platforms that settle agent purchases, ACP-shaped flows still land as ledger events: holds, captures, refunds, and fee splits. The commercial protocol defines intent; the ledger records economic truth. Linking ACP mandates to durable account balances and audit trails is what makes agent commerce operable at volume.