Amex adds Intent Intelligence so AI agents cannot buy outside what you authorised

American Express announced on 13 October 2026 an Intent Intelligence Framework meant to stop AI shopping agents from completing purchases the customer did not authorise. It sits inside Amex's Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer toolkit, launched in April. A Create Intent API records the customer's instructions and constraints such as merchant, max budget, and product preferences. The customer authenticates and signs off. Amex then issues an Intent ID and a Proof of Intent Token used to get a secure payment credential for checkout instead of the real card number. Amex says that token can also help fraud checks and disputes. Example: if you ask for white Nike size 9 sneakers and the agent tries Adidas, Amex could block the charge. Amex says it has not yet seen a rise in disputes from agentic commerce, but wants standards as use grows. In its Trendex survey, 66% of US consumers said they are likely to use AI agents to research best price, and 61% for recommendations, over the next 12 months. Amex is talking to partners across payments; ACE will keep evolving.