American Express has introduced a new framework called the “Intent Intelligence Framework” to ensure that personal AI agents do not make unauthorized purchases on behalf of their users.

This framework captures and authenticates a customer’s purchase intent before an AI agent completes the transaction, making sure the purchase aligns with the customer’s explicit instructions. It includes a Create Intent API that captures the customer’s purchase instructions and other constraints, an Intent ID, and a Proof of Intent Token, which creates a secure digital payment credential for the agent to use.

The framework could become an industry standard for AI-powered transactions, providing a way to manage areas such as fraud prevention and dispute resolution. The company hopes it will help mitigate risks and ensure that AI agents act within the customer’s intended parameters.

Amex is already in discussions with partners across the payments ecosystem for implementing the framework, and plans to actively develop it further as the agentic commerce ecosystem evolves. The company will discuss the framework in more detail at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.