American Express introduced an intent-verification framework that records customer purchase constraints and checks them before an AI agent completes a transaction.
American Express introduced its Intent Intelligence Framework on October 13, 2026, as part of its Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer toolkit. The framework is designed to carry a customer’s purchase instructions through an AI-agent transaction and help prevent an agent from buying something the customer did not authorize.
The process begins with a Create Intent API that captures instructions and constraints, which can include a merchant, spending limit, or product preferences. The customer then verifies their identity and approves the intent recorded by the agent. American Express says the system creates an Intent ID and a Proof of Intent Token containing the customer’s high-level constraints. The token is used to obtain a secure digital payment credential for checkout, rather than exposing the customer’s actual card number.
The intent record and token may also support fraud prevention and dispute handling, according to the company. American Express Vice President of Agentic Partnerships and Strategy Hannah Bozian described a potential check: if a customer asked for white Nike sneakers in size 9 but an agent tried to order Adidas shoes, the framework could stop the purchase. The system is intended to account for different agent designs and for more autonomous tasks, such as reordering household supplies under price or size limits.
The launch builds on ACE, which American Express introduced in April. The company said it has not seen an increase in disputes tied to agentic commerce, describing the framework as a proactive step as such shopping develops. In an American Express Trendex survey cited by the company, 66% of U.S. consumers said they were likely to use AI agents to research prices, while 61% said they were likely to use them for product or service recommendations over the next 12 months. American Express said it is discussing ACE implementation with payments partners and plans to keep developing the toolkit.