#USA #San Francisco #AEP #Agentic Commerce #A-Comm Technologies

A-Comm Technologies Invites Public Feedback on Evidence Standard for Agentic Commerce

On July 20, 2026, A-Comm Technologies, Inc. made a significant announcement regarding the draft of its A-Comm Evidence Protocol (AEP), which is now open for public comment until August 14, 2026. This innovative protocol aims to bridge the trust gap in agentic commerce with an adjudication-ready and tamper-evident record of every transaction.

The Need for Trust in Agentic Commerce

The rise of agentic commerce has brought a unique set of challenges in ensuring trust and security. Traditional human checkout processes inherently provide observability, but in a world driven by artificial intelligence and automated transactions, this can be lacking. The AEP is designed to address this need, providing visibility into what an agent did, how consumers' intentions are traced, and ensuring auditability during disputes.

The protocol meticulously documents every stage of a transaction, including discovery, referral, intent, delegation, policy actions, cart creation, authorization, and fulfillment. Each of these steps becomes an artifact within a tamper-evident hash chain that ensures the integrity of the record, effectively acting as a witness to the entire process. This complete documentation can be exported as portable evidence, allowing any party involved to independently verify the transaction details.

The Significance of the AEP

A-Comm's evidence protocol comes at a critical time. In the 2025 holiday season, for example, Salesforce reported that AI accounted for 20% of global online sales, and this upcoming year is projected to see agent-initiated transactions heading towards payment authorization at scale. The National Retail Federation has indicated that approximately 19% of retailers' annual revenue is generated during the holiday weeks, presenting a unique opportunity — and challenge — for the payments ecosystem to ensure protection for cardholders and merchants alike.

Krystal Gracier, the founder and CEO of A-Comm, emphasized the importance of building a scalable agentic commerce ecosystem that is observable, traceable, and auditable. She noted, “No single company can build an ecosystem of trust on its own. We published AEP as an open draft for public comment because a standard everyone trusts has to be one everyone helps build.” This philosophy highlights A-Comm's commitment to collaboration within the industry.

Open for Public Input and Future Developments

The AEP is an open-source initiative licensed under Apache 2.0, which means it is accessible to anyone interested without any fees or lock-in conditions. It is designed to complement existing agentic commerce protocols without imposing additional liability, weight, or outcomes. The protocol aims to reflect the needs and perspectives of the entire ecosystem it serves, making it crucial for stakeholders to contribute their insights.

A-Comm is actively encouraging individuals involved in building or securing agentic commerce to provide feedback on the draft protocol. Every submission will be publicly logged, allowing for transparency and accountability in how the standard evolves. Interested parties can participate in the discussion by visiting the protocol's official site at aep.a-comm.ai or on GitHub.

About A-Comm Technologies, Inc.

Founded by former leaders in Visa's payment sector, A-Comm Technologies, Inc. focuses on constructing trust infrastructure for agentic commerce. The company is supported by strategic angel investments from influential figures within major financial organizations, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, SoFi, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Qualcomm, as well as innovative companies in the fintech space.

This initiative represents a pivotal step towards solidifying trust in digital commerce transactions. By inviting public commentary on the AEP, A-Comm showcases its dedication to open dialogue and collaborative advancement in achieving a more secure and transparent agentic commerce environment.