Google is plowing its expansion into Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. On Tuesday, September 16, the tech giant unveiled a payment system powered by artificial intelligence and including support for stablecoins and crypto assets. This payment rail, called Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), is designed to be agnostic for users, merchants, and providers, allowing them to conduct transactions with different payment methods.

This initiative is part of a larger corporate philosophy that seeks to apply artificial intelligence to different aspects of life. The company believes that using agents to delegate or facilitate the online purchasing process represents a technical advancement in global commerce.

According to Google, the need to create a protocol to regulate the behavior of regional financial agents was unavoidable.

AI agents are capable of conducting transactions on behalf of users, creating the need to establish a common foundation for authenticating, validating, and securely transmitting an agent's authority to transact. While current payment systems typically assume a human is directly clicking "buy" on a trusted surface, the rise of autonomous agents and their ability to initiate a payment breaks this fundamental assumption and raises critical questions that AP2 helps address.

Google Cloud, cloud services platform.

Along with Google, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has seen a rapid shift toward the creation of automated agent systems for making purchases with digital currency.

This is due to the application of advances in artificial intelligence to new aspects of life, with the justification that this lightens individuals' daily tasks.

How does Google AP2 work?

These mandates would facilitate the online purchasing process, both those made in real time (with human presence) and those made by delegates, according to Google.

Agent Payments Protocol will allow users to perform actions such as product searches through a generative language interface. Users will be able to enter prompts like "find me some new white running shoes," and their request will be captured and executed by an AI agent.

"[The mandate] provides auditable context for the entire interaction in a transaction process. After the agent presents a cart with the shoes they want, their approval signs a cart mandate. This is a critical step that creates a secure, immutable record of the exact items and price, ensuring that what you see is what you pay," the Google Cloud blog post states.

Delegated purchasing, on the other hand, will allow the same, but in a deferred manner, without direct human intervention.

When you delegate a task like "buy concert tickets as they go on sale," you sign a detailed mandate of intent in advance. This mandate specifies the rules of engagement: price limits, deadlines, and other conditions. It serves as verifiable, pre-authorized proof that can allow the agent to automatically generate a cart mandate on your behalf once the specific conditions are met.

Google Cloud, cloud services provider.

What types of mandates can be executed with Google's AP2 for purchasing?

According to Google Cloud, agents would be able to receive and execute instructions like these: "I really want this jacket in green and I'm willing to pay up to 20% more for it."

Users will also be able to execute personalized shopping instructions, where their personal agent interacts with a merchant's agent.

For example, a buyer tells their sales agent they want a new bicycle before their next trip. With the date available, the agent would be able to produce personalized offers and purchases while respecting human time sensitivity.

Such agents could also execute purchases that coordinate complete instructions simultaneously, such as this: "Book me a round-trip flight and a hotel in Palm Springs for the first weekend of November, with a total budget of $700."

In addition to traditional payment companies like American Express, Mastercard, PayPal, and neobanks like Payoneer and Revolut, companies and organizations from the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ecosystem will also contribute to the payment system with AI-powered agents.

This is the case with Coinbase , Ethereum Foundation , Lightspark , Mysten Labs, and MetaMask . This means that AP2 will likely integrate with exchanges, the Ethereum network, other cryptocurrency networks like SUI, agnostic wallets, and even Bitcoin, via the Lightning Network. In turn, this protocol will allow payments with debit and credit cards, stablecoins, and bank transfers in real time.