Cloudflare partners with major payment networks on AI shopping agent protocol

SAN FRANCISCO - Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET), a technology powerhouse with a market capitalization of $77.56 billion and impressive year-to-date returns of over 106%, announced it is collaborating with leading payment networks to create an authentication layer for AI-powered shopping, according to a company press release. According to InvestingPro, the company maintains strong gross profit margins of 76% while growing revenue at 27% year-over-year.

The connectivity cloud company is working with Visa to develop the Trusted Agent Protocol, which integrates Cloudflare’s Web Bot Auth protocol to help merchants securely engage with AI shopping agents. Mastercard and American Express are also partnering with Cloudflare to implement Web Bot Auth in their respective agentic commerce programs. With the stock trading near its 52-week high of $230, InvestingPro analysis suggests the company is currently trading above its Fair Value, though it maintains strong financial metrics with a current ratio of 5.14.

The initiative aims to address challenges in agentic commerce, where AI agents act as personal shoppers handling the entire buying process for consumers. The authentication system will help merchants differentiate between legitimate AI agents and malicious bots while maintaining a seamless customer experience.

"The future of commerce is agentic, and Cloudflare is building the trusted foundation for it," said Stephanie Cohen, Chief Strategy Officer at Cloudflare. "With our global network, we’re uniquely positioned to enable trust protocols that allow AI agents to transact safely."

Through these partnerships, AI agents built with Cloudflare’s Agents SDK will soon be able to shop autonomously at millions of merchants globally. The system enables merchants to understand customer intent, maintain personal relationships with customers, and process various payment methods from agents.

Jack Forestell, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Visa, noted: "Merchants shouldn’t have to choose between blocking bots and serving real customers—Trusted Agent Protocol helps solve that."

Additional companies providing feedback on the Web Bot Auth protocol include Adyen, Checkout.com, Circle, Fiserv, Microsoft, Nuvei, Shopify, Webflow, and Worldpay.

Cloudflare has also contributed to open protocols such as the Agent Payments Protocol and is establishing the x402 Foundation with Coinbase to further accelerate agentic commerce development.

In other recent news, Cloudflare, Inc. has announced the launch of new solution bundles for its PowerUP Partner Program, aimed at helping partners deliver consolidated security and management services to customers. These new offerings are designed to address the growing complexity organizations face with increasing applications and AI workloads. Additionally, Cloudflare has partnered with UNICEF’s Giga initiative to track global school connectivity, conducting up to 10 million monthly availability tests from schools to improve internet access in underserved communities.

In a move to support AI-driven web activities, Cloudflare plans to introduce NET Dollar, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin for instant and secure transactions. The company is also expanding its Project Galileo initiative, providing nonprofits and independent media organizations with tools to monitor and control AI access to their website content. This expansion offers free access to Cloudflare’s Bot Management and AI Crawl Control services for participating organizations.

Meanwhile, Piper Sandler’s recent teen survey highlights TikTok’s continued dominance as the favorite app among U.S. teens, with Instagram gaining traction. Roblox has also reached a record high in active users, indicating a growing trend in the social media and gaming sectors.

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