Actor context
Principal and agent
Keep the represented principal distinct from the acting agent and bind both to the authenticated tenant context.
Delegated authority
Know What an AI Agent Is Allowed to Do
Authentication identifies an actor. Authority determines whether that actor may perform this exact commerce action for this principal, tenant, resource, amount, payee, and time window.
Current product boundaryAuthority explanations and immutable Authority Receipts are available in OBSERVE.
THE OPERATING MODEL
A logged-in agent is not automatically an authorized buyer.
Effective authority can depend on a delegation, mandate, approval, policy limit, resource boundary, tenant route, revocation state, and the action currently requested. Those facts must be evaluated together at one known time.
The Agent Authority Map explains the supporting and missing evidence. It does not invent legal authority, rank agents, or convert absent evidence into trust.
WHAT THE RECORD MUST SHOW
Authority becomes explainable when every boundary is explicit.
Delegation scope
Purpose, limits, and validity
Record permitted actions, resources, amounts, beneficiaries, validity windows, and revocation evidence.
Exact action
Request-bound authority
Compare authority with the canonical action digest rather than relying on a broad role or reusable credential.
EVIDENCE FLOW
From identity evidence to an authority explanation
- 01Resolve tenant and resource context
- 02Identify principal and acting agent
- 03Collect delegation or mandate evidence
- 04Check scope, limits, validity, and revocation
- 05Bind the result to the exact action digest
- 06Preserve the explanation and source references
CLEAR PRODUCT BOUNDARY
The map explains evidence, not legal authority or trust.
AgentGateFee reports what the configured evidence supports. It does not certify an agent, create a delegation, provide identity proofing, or make a legal determination on the merchant's behalf.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Understand the evidence before changing the workflow.
Is authentication enough to approve an agent purchase?
No. Authentication can identify the actor, but action-level authority also needs applicable delegation, scope, limits, validity, policy, and context evidence.
What happens when authority evidence conflicts?
The conflict remains explicit. In OBSERVE, the result explains that authorization would be required or the action would be reviewed or blocked; it does not modify the request.
Does AgentGateFee issue mandates?
No. Mandates and identity credentials remain with customer-selected providers. AgentGateFee consumes minimized references and verification state.
START WITH EVIDENCE