Learn / AP2 vs ACP: what's the difference?
AP2 vs ACP: what's the difference?
AP2 and ACP answer different questions. AP2 (Google): "is this agent authorized to spend, and within what limits?" ACP (Stripe/OpenAI): "how does an assistant actually complete a purchase from a merchant?" One is a trust layer, the other is a commerce flow.
AP2's job
Verifiable mandates — signed, auditable proofs of delegated spending authority, independent of settlement rail. AP2 matters most to banks, wallets, and merchants that need to know an autonomous transaction was legitimate before honoring or disputing it.
ACP's job
A standardized checkout that chat assistants can drive: product discovery, cart, payment with stored credentials, confirmation. ACP matters most to merchants who want their catalog purchasable inside AI assistants without building per-assistant integrations.
How they combine
A mature consumer flow uses both: the assistant carries an AP2-style mandate proving it may spend up to a limit, and executes the purchase through ACP. Neither spec moves stablecoins for machine micropayments — that's x402's lane.
Frequently asked questions
Are AP2 and ACP competitors?
Not directly — authorization vs checkout. Competitive tension exists mainly over which ecosystem (Google vs Stripe/OpenAI) anchors agent commerce.
Which is more adopted?
Both are emerging as of mid-2026. ACP has visible deployments inside major assistants; AP2's adoption is quieter, in wallet and mandate infrastructure.
Where does x402 fit relative to these?
x402 handles machine-to-machine micropayment execution — a third, complementary lane. See our x402 vs AP2 and x402 vs ACP comparisons.
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