We’re in the midst of a fundamental shift in how software gets built and used. AI agents are moving beyond assistants that wait for instructions. They call APIs, access MCP servers, coordinate with other agents, and complete complex multi-step tasks on behalf of users. As agents take on increasingly diverse tasks, the ecosystem around them is expanding just as fast to meet that demand.
Looking further ahead, services, tools, and content must be designed for humans and agents. Agents will discover, evaluate, and pay for resources when they need, all within a single execution loop. The services that support them must be priced and consumed in that way: fractions of a cent per call, billed in real time. Early protocols like x402, ACP, MPP, and AP2 are pioneering what this looks like, and teams are experimenting with payment-enabled agents. The building blocks are emerging, but the agentic economy is still in its earliest days, and the infrastructure to support it at…