AI & Agents ✓ Tested with aipp

AI Agent Execution

Enable autonomous AI agents and LLM tools to pay for services programmatically.

Target Audience: AI developers, agentic framework authors, LLM tool creators, and autonomous software engineers.

The Real Problem

Autonomous AI agents need to access paid tools, APIs, and data sources, but traditional paywalls require credit cards, human CAPTCHAs, and web forms that AI agents cannot complete.

Real-World Example: For example, an autonomous coding agent encountering a paid documentation endpoint can parse the HTTP 402 header, pay a 22 sat invoice via Lightning, and resume execution without human intervention.

How aipp Solves It

aipp Smart Tags serve dual representations: a web checkout for humans and a machine-readable JSON manifest (/t/:id/manifest) for AI agents. When an AI agent hits a 402 challenge, it parses the manifest, executes the payment, and submits the receipt.

Step-by-Step Payment Flow

STEP 01 Agent Request AI Agent calls service URL or API tool.

STEP 02 402 + Manifest aipp returns HTTP 402 with link to machine manifest /t/:id/manifest.

STEP 03 Agent Payment Agent wallet pays Lightning invoice or Base USDC transfer.

STEP 04 Task Execution Agent presents preimage/tx hash proof; service executes after verification.

Scope & Boundaries

What aipp Does

✓ Provides machine-readable manifests for agent discovery
✓ Supports dual human + agent flow on Smart Tag URLs
✓ Verifies autonomous payment proofs before service execution

What aipp Does Not Do

✗ Does not act as a central agent registry or store agent private keys
✗ Does not mandate a single wallet vendor

Implementation Pattern

Below is the minimal implementation pattern using standard aipp endpoints / SDK:

from aipp import AippClient

client = AippClient(api_key="aipp_merch_...")
result = client.call_paid_agent_tool(
    url="https://aipp.dev/t/demo",
    max_budget_usd=0.05
)
print("Agent Tool Output:", result)

Settlement Architecture Note:
• Lightning Rail: In hosted Lightning flows, payments route through aipp's Lightning gateway before net proceeds are automatically forwarded to your configured wallet address.
• Base USDC Rail: USDC transfers settle directly on-chain to your designated EVM wallet address.
• No Merchant Spending Balance: aipp does not maintain a spendable merchant balance or require manual withdrawal steps.

Requirements & Limitations

Agent must support HTTP 402 response handling or use aipp Python/TypeScript SDK
In hosted Lightning flows, payments pass through aipp gateway before automatic forwarding

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the agent need human approval to pay?

No. AI agents can execute payments programmatically up to a user-configured budget limit.

Related Use Cases

AI & Agents Paid MCP Tool & MCP Server Monetize Model Context Protocol (MCP) tool calls and MCP servers in Cursor, Anthropic Claude Desktop, and LLMs. AI & Agents Usage-Based AI Agent Tasks Charge for variable AI agent tasks per execution without forced subscriptions. Data & Research Paid Document & RAG Query Monetize queries against private document collections, RAG pipelines, and Vector DBs.

Implement AI Agent Execution with aipp

Read the developer documentation or generate your API key to gate requests behind Lightning and Base USDC payments.

View Developer Docs → Open Studio Console