As AI agents begin to discover products, compare options, build carts, and initiate purchases on behalf of consumers, the payments layer needs new infrastructure for trust, identity, user intent, authentication, tokenization, fraud signals, and real-time transaction visibility. Practical understanding of AI-agent systems, including how agents use tools, APIs, structured inputs and outputs, delegated permissions, and external services to complete tasks, plus the judgment to design safe, deterministic, and auditable payment flows around those behaviors.