---
title: "Sierra and Meta propose an open standard for personal AI agents that deal with businesses"
url: https://anawords.com/story/personal-agent-protocol-sierra-meta-open-standard
published: 2026-10-11T20:26:16+05:30
updated: 2026-10-11T20:26:16+05:30
section: AI Agents
author: Mayank Sahu
checked: sources checked by AI, approved by editor
version: 1
---

# Sierra and Meta propose an open standard for personal AI agents that deal with businesses

Personal Agent Protocol uses OAuth sign-in and lets customers choose read-only or write access. Walmart, Shopify and Stripe are among the partners. The first specification is due later in October.

**In short:** Sierra announced Personal Agent Protocol on 6 October 2026, an open standard it is developing with Meta. It defines how a person’s AI agent signs in to a business, what it may do and what the business can see. The v0.1 specification is due later in October.

## What was announced

Sierra announced Personal Agent Protocol (PAP) on 6 October 2026. It is an open standard that Sierra is developing with Meta and industry partners.[^1] It sets out how a person’s own AI agent can deal with a business on their behalf: how it signs in, what it may do and what the business can see.[^1][^2]

The named partners are Genesys, Instinct, Rocket, Shopify, Stripe and Walmart.[^1][^2]

## How it is meant to work

- **Discovery:** the agent starts on the company’s website to learn what the company offers and how to reach it.[^1]
- **Sign-in:** the agent opens a session for the user, as a guest or signed in. Sessions are built on OAuth and carry across channels within one visit.[^1]
- **Permissions:** the customer decides whether the agent gets read-only or write access.[^1]
- **Getting things done:** the agent can use the company’s website, its APIs (for example ones built with MCP or OpenAPI) or the company’s own agent.[^1][^2]

Companies decide what they make available.[^1]

## What is not in it yet

Payments are not part of the first version. Sierra lists payments, push notifications such as delivery alerts, and finer permissions for specific actions as possible future additions.[^1][^2]

## When the specification arrives

Sierra says the v0.1 specification, a reference implementation and design workshops will come “later this month”.[^1] Some early summaries described v0.1 as already published, but Sierra’s post and The Next Web both say it is still to come.[^1][^2] Neither names a licence or a governing body.

## Other efforts

The Next Web notes that Stripe and Shopify have also joined Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol, a separate effort.[^2]

## Why it matters

As more people use AI assistants to shop, book or manage accounts, businesses need a way to know which agent is acting for which customer and what it is allowed to do. PAP is one proposal. Whether it is widely used will depend on adoption by businesses and agent makers.

## Fact ledger

- [Confirmed] Sierra announced Personal Agent Protocol on 6 October 2026, developed with Meta. (source 1,2)
- [Confirmed] Agent sessions are built on OAuth; customers choose read-only or write access. (source 1)
- [Confirmed] Partners: Genesys, Instinct, Rocket, Shopify, Stripe and Walmart. (source 1,2)
- [Confirmed] Payments are not part of the first version. (source 1,2)
- [Confirmed] The v0.1 specification is due later in October. (source 1,2)
- [Not known] The licence and who will govern the standard.

## Sources

1. [Sierra: Introducing Personal Agent Protocol](https://sierra.ai/blog/introducing-personal-agent-protocol) — official
2. [The Next Web: Sierra announces Personal Agent Protocol](https://thenextweb.com/news/personal-agent-protocol-sierra-meta)