> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.polygon.technology/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agentic Payments Introduction

> Conceptual overview of agentic payments and how autonomous agents transact on Polygon.

# Agentic Payments Introduction

**Agentic Payments** are payments initiated and completed by autonomous software
entities (agents) without direct human action at every step.

Instead of requiring a person to click "confirm transaction", an agent can
negotiate prices, sign intents, and pay onchain in the background, using
predefined policies or earned balances.

This shifts onchain activity from user-driven to intent-driven. An agent
doesn't just send tokens: it executes a purpose, such as subscribing to data,
paying per API call, or settling micro-invoices in real time.

By encoding payment logic inside agents and standardizing protocols like
[x402](https://x402.dev), Polygon allows any intelligent system to become an
autonomous economic participant.

***

## What is an Agent?

An **agent** is an autonomous program that can perceive, decide, and act on
behalf of a user or a system.

Agents combine reasoning models (LLMs, decision trees) with access to data,
APIs, and onchain actions. They can interpret natural language commands,
interact with contracts, and coordinate with other agents without exposing
private keys or depending on centralized custody.

On Polygon, agents work with a suite of tooling including **AgentKit**, **Model
Context Protocol (MCP)**, and **Unified APIs** to perform secure blockchain
operations. This ecosystem makes it possible for an AI assistant, a trading
bot, or a DAO delegate to act as an onchain entity: context-aware,
policy-bounded, and continuously learning.

***

## How Agentic Payments Work

Instead of traditional wallet interactions, payments are executed via
**intents** or **facilitated flows** such as x402.

An agent can detect that an API call costs \$0.002 in USDC, confirm the
requirement, and complete the payment automatically, all in milliseconds.

Because they are keyless and infrastructure-agnostic, agentic payments work
across environments: from local LLMs to decentralized marketplaces. This makes
microtransactions, dynamic subscriptions, and per-use pricing viable for both
human-facing apps and AI agents.

***

## Standards and Protocols

Polygon supports two complementary standards for agentic payments:

* **[x402](/payment-services/agentic-payments/x402/intro/)**: An HTTP-based protocol that uses the 402 Payment Required status code to gate API access behind onchain payments. Clients pay per request; no subscription or API key required.
* **[ERC-8004](/payment-services/agentic-payments/agent-integration/erc8004/)**: An onchain trust layer for autonomous agents, providing Identity, Reputation, and Validation registries so agents from different organizations can discover and assess each other.