Sierra Personal Agent Protocol
An open standard from Meta and Sierra, with Genesys, Instinct, Rocket, Shopify, Stripe and Walmart, defining how personal agents authenticate and what businesses let them do
Tool Overview
Details, capabilities and usage guidance
Features
- ✓ What it is: Sierra says Personal Agent Protocol is an open standard defining how personal agents interact with businesses, and that it is open for anyone to implement
- ✓ The problem: Sierra says most personal agents use websites the way people do, loading pages and clicking through forms, and may call the support line when that fails - slow, and it may not finish the job, where a direct connection could complete it securely in seconds
- ✓ An OAuth-based session: Sierra says the session is built on OAuth, so an agent can start as a guest (enough to check availability or ask about a returns policy) and sign in on the company's page or with credentials already set up with the personal agent
- ✓ Consumers decide access: Sierra says the customer always controls whether the agent has read-only or write access, and that the session carries across channels so a question asked before sign-in and an order change made afterwards count as the same visit
- ✓ Companies decide the routes: Sierra says a company chooses whether to work with agents through its website, its APIs built on standards such as MCP and OpenAPI, or an agent of its own for tasks that need conversation, such as a warranty claim
How to Use
- Read Sierra's official post Introducing Personal Agent Protocol to confirm the scope, the partners and the roadmap
- Per the post, expose a discovery entry point on your website so a personal agent can find what you offer and how to reach it
- Handle the visit with an OAuth session as described: allow guest read-only access, then let the customer sign in or use credentials already set up with their agent when account access is needed
- Decide per task whether it runs through your website, your APIs or your own agent, and wait for the v0.1 specification and reference implementation Sierra says it will publish this month
FAQ
What is Personal Agent Protocol?
Sierra's post says PAP is an open standard Meta and Sierra are developing with industry partners at Genesys, Instinct, Rocket, Shopify, Stripe and Walmart that defines how personal agents interact with businesses: it handles authentication, empowers consumers and gives companies visibility into what personal agents do through their websites, APIs or company agents.
Why is a protocol needed?
Sierra says most personal agents use websites the way people do, loading pages and clicking through forms, and when that cannot get the job done they may call the company's support line or open its web chat - slow, and the agent may fail. A direct connection could do the same task securely in seconds, but only if it works for consumers, brands and the companies building personal agents at once.
How do consumers control what an agent can do?
Sierra says the consumer decides what access to give a personal agent. A session can start as a guest, which may be enough to check availability or ask about a returns policy; when a task needs account access the customer can sign in on the company's page or use credentials already set up with the agent, and the customer always chooses read-only or write access.
What routes can companies offer?
Sierra lists three: the company's website, navigated as regular web pages; its APIs, built on standards such as MCP and OpenAPI; and its own agent, for tasks that need conversation such as a warranty claim. The company decides what it makes available.
Does context carry across channels?
Yes. Sierra says the session is built on OAuth and carries across channels, so a question asked before sign-in and an order change made afterwards are part of the same visit.
Is it available now?
Sierra says it plans to publish the v0.1 specification later this month, host design workshops and publish a reference implementation to help developers get started. Later directions include more detailed permissions, push notifications when a flight is delayed or an order ships, and payments extensions that complete a purchase without sharing card details.