Google announced the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an open framework designed to let AI agents make purchases safely on your behalf. More than 60 financial & tech leaders (incl. Ames, Mastercard, PayPal, Salesforce, Intuit) are already backing it.

*How it works:*

• AP2 introduces digital contracts called "mandates" that confirm you’ve authorized an agent before transaction is completed
• Real-time shopping uses 2-step approval: an intent mandate when you start a purchase, and a cart mandate to finalize payment
• Users can also pre-authorize agent purchases (e.g. "buy these tickets as soon as they're available")
• Built to handle credit cards, bank transfers & stablecoins, (crypto partnerships include Coinbase, MetaMask & Ethereum Foundation)
• Creates a verifiable "chain of evidence" from purchase intent through payment
• Technical details are on GitHub - by making it open & transparent Google is positioning AP2 as the infrastructure for AI-ecommerce going forward