AI agents are increasingly making purchases on behalf of users. To capture this growing market, your store needs to be compatible with agentic commerce protocols. This guide walks you through the technical and operational requirements.
Understanding Agentic Commerce Protocols
The Agent Commerce Execution Standard (ACEC) and Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) define how AI agents discover products, request purchases, and handle confirmations. These protocols ensure secure, auditable transactions with explicit user consent.
Technical Requirements
- Product API endpoint - Expose your catalog via REST API with standardized product schema (name, price, SKU, availability, shipping options)
- Order API endpoint - Accept purchase requests with buyer token, product ID, quantity, and shipping details
- Webhook handler - Receive confirmation callbacks when users approve purchases
- Inventory sync - Real-time stock updates to prevent overselling to agents
Data You Must Provide
For each product, agents need: unique product ID, current price with currency, stock availability, shipping zones and costs, estimated delivery times, return policy reference, and merchant identification.
Security Considerations
- Validate all incoming requests with API key authentication
- Verify webhook signatures to prevent spoofed confirmations
- Implement rate limiting to prevent catalog scraping abuse
- Log all agent interactions for dispute resolution
Integration Checklist
- Register your store with a Clearing Systems provider
- Generate API credentials and configure webhooks
- Map your product catalog to ACEC schema
- Test the full flow in sandbox environment
- Enable production mode and monitor first transactions
Stores that implement ACEC early will capture agent-driven traffic as AI assistants become the default shopping interface. The technical lift is modest - most e-commerce platforms can integrate within days using available plugins.