American Express sets out how it will check AI agents’ purchases against what the customer actually asked for
Its Intent Intelligence framework records a customer’s approved instructions, such as brand and budget, before an agent can pay. Amex says a mismatched purchase could be blocked.
How this story was checked
- ResearchedWith AI assistance · 2 sources
- AI source checkEach sentence matched to its source
- Editor approvalMayank Sahu · 14 Oct, 13:24
- Published14 Oct, 13:24
In short
American Express described its Intent Intelligence framework on 13 October 2026. Before an AI agent buys something, the customer approves their instructions, such as merchant and maximum budget. Amex turns that into a token tied to a payment credential, so a purchase that does not match can be blocked.
What Amex described
American Express explained on 13 October 2026 how its Intent Intelligence framework is meant to stop AI agents from making purchases a customer did not ask for, TechCrunch reports.1 Intent Intelligence is one of the services in Amex’s Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer kit, first announced in April.12
How it works
According to TechCrunch:1
1. A Create Intent step captures the customer’s instructions and limits, such as merchant, maximum budget and product preferences. 2. The customer confirms their identity and approves that intent. 3. Amex creates an Intent ID and a token holding those limits. 4. The token is used to get a secure digital payment credential that the agent uses at checkout instead of the real card number.
The record can later help with fraud checks and disputes.1 In Amex’s example, if a customer asked for white Nike trainers in size 9 and the agent tried to buy Adidas shoes, the purchase could be blocked before it completes.1
“These new transactions will have a consumer, a merchant, and an agent,” Amex vice president Hannah Bozian told TechCrunch.1
The wider kit
Amex’s April announcement listed services for registering trusted agents, letting cardmembers enable cards for agents, capturing intent, providing tokenised payment credentials and sharing cart details.2 It also announced Amex Agent Purchase Protection, which Amex says will protect eligible customers from charges caused by AI agent errors when the agent passed on the customer’s authenticated intent; terms apply.2
What is not known yet
TechCrunch reports no general release date or pricing for the intent services.1 Amex says it has not yet seen a rise in disputes tied to agent shopping and is building ahead of demand.1
Fact ledger
How labels workQuestions readers ask
How does Amex stop AI agents from buying the wrong thing?
The customer approves their instructions first. Amex turns them into a token tied to the payment credential, so a purchase outside those limits can be blocked.
Does the agent get my card number?
No. According to TechCrunch, the agent uses a secure digital payment credential instead of the actual card number.
Is it available now?
Amex has not announced a general release date or pricing for the intent services.