American Express Wants Your AI Agent to Ask Before It Buys

American Express unveiled its Intent Intelligence Framework on October 13, a system meant to stop a purchase if the cardholder never actually approved it but an AI agent (software that acts on a person's behalf) bought it anyway. Through a Create Intent API (a tool other software connects to), the customer first sets which merchant the agent is allowed to buy from, what budget limit applies, and what product preferences matter. Once the customer confirms, the system issues an Intent ID and a Proof of Intent token, and that token goes to checkout instead of the real card number. Amex says 66% of surveyed U.S. consumers plan to have an agent compare prices within a year, and 61% plan to ask one for product recommendations.

This is the first real attempt to separate the intent to buy from the act of buying, since the agent now carries a token with conditions attached instead of a card number. That removes the core worry around agentic shopping: that the agent buys the wrong thing or the wrong amount. What is not yet clear is whether this holds up once purchases flow through many different merchants, not just American Express's own partners.