The Rise of Know Your Human in Agentic Commerce
Artificial intelligence (AI) agents are rapidly transforming commerce, automating tasks from product searches and price comparisons to negotiations and transactions. This acceleration necessitates a re-evaluation of identity controls, shifting the focus from verifying who is making a purchase to verifying whether the action reflects verified human intent. As AI agents develop into more sophisticated, independent verification of personhood is emerging as a critical requirement, moving beyond traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) protocols.
From KYC to KYA to Know Your Human
KYC confirms the customer, and KYB confirms the business. A natural progression is Know Your Agent (KYA), which confirms that a digital agent is authorized to act on behalf of a customer or business. However, even with KYA in place, ensuring a continuous link between the human principal and the agent is paramount. “Know your human” initiatives aim to establish a framework that connects identity, delegated authority, and real-time behavioral signals into a single accountability structure.
The Cost of Insufficient Identity Verification
A recent PYMNTS Intelligence report, conducted in collaboration with Trulioo, highlighted the significant financial impact of gaps in digital identity systems. The study found that firms lose an average of 3.1% of annual revenue due to fraud, misidentification, and compliance failures, totaling $94.9 billion in losses among the surveyed companies. Over half (56.3%) of firms reported facing threats tied to bots or agents, with 58.6% struggling with bot-fueled fraud and over 40% experiencing incidents linked to adversarial bots.
Addressing the Perception-Reality Gap
Despite these risks, a striking 96.3% of firms expressed confidence in their ability to detect harmful bots. This divergence between perceived security and actual outcomes underscores the limitations of static onboarding checks and traditional verification processes in an increasingly automated environment.
Liability and Agent Verification
Zac Cohen, Chief Product Officer at Trulioo, emphasizes the importance of understanding and verifying AI agents. “We want to understand who the agents are,” he stated, “We want to make sure that they carry the instructions and the prompts of the individual specifically of how they should be.” He also identified liability as a key obstacle to the widespread adoption of agentic commerce, stating that it is “the big sticking point for a lot of these transactions to really take off.”
Tokenization as a Supporting Structure
Tokenization plays a crucial role in reinforcing this security framework. By replacing sensitive account numbers with non-sensitive tokens, payment networks reduce credential exposure and limit their use. Tokens can be restricted to specific merchants, devices, or channels. When combined with robust identity proofing and agent verification, tokenization embeds “know your human” principles into the transaction flow. A token issued after KYC can be linked to verified attributes, device intelligence, and agent permissions. This allows for continuous validation without re-authenticating credentials each time, as long as the token, device, and agent authorization remain consistent with the verified human profile.
Integrated Identity Systems Drive Positive Results
The PYMNTS Intelligence and Trulioo report also revealed that companies utilizing globally integrated identity platforms experienced a 65.6% decrease in digital transaction decline rates and a 62.5% reduction in false positives over the past year. Lower false declines preserve revenue, while fewer false positives build trust.
The Future of Agentic Commerce
Agentic commerce is poised for continued growth, driven by its potential for efficiency and scalability. Research indicates that one-third of U.S. Consumers have already used or would consider using generative AI for shopping. The verification infrastructure must evolve in tandem to support this expansion.