Visa has introduced a tool allowing secure communication between merchants and AI agents. The Trusted Agent Protocol created in partnership with Worldpay and Cloudfare, is designed to address the challenges centered around agent-driven commerce by enabling approved agents to securely pass critical information to merchants. This provides a much-needed framework for recognizing trusted agents with commerce intent and distinguishes them from malicious automation and rogue bots. New specifications use agent-specific cryptographic signatures and includes the following information: Agent Intent – An indication that the agent is a trusted agent with an intent to retrieve additional details about, or purchase, a specific product from a merchant. Consumer Recognition – Data elements that indicate whether a consumer has an existing account or has previously interacted with the merchant. Payment Information – Agents have the option to carry payment data to support a merchant’s preferred checkout or payment method. Jack Forestell, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, Visa said “Our new agent protocol is focused on creating no-code functionality for merchants to securely identify agents with an intent to buy and provide a better payments and personalized experience for its known users.”